Background: The Douglas County Superior Court in Douglasville, Ga. (Google Maps). Inset: Kristopher Graf (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office).
A Georgia man who jumped out of a moving vehicle in the middle of a highway, causing a fatal car crash, was found guilty of manslaughter.
The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office disclosed in a press release that Kristopher Graf, 45, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury on April 24. According to the DA, Graf, along with his wife Stacy Edwards, was significantly intoxicated while driving back from a party on January 14, 2022. The DA reported that as their vehicle was speeding at around 80 mph on a section of the westbound I-80, Graf threw himself out of the moving car. This action triggered a chain reaction leading to a multi-vehicle collision that resulted in the deaths of two individuals and severe injuries to several others.
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Following Graf’s actions, he landed in the middle of the road and suffered multiple injuries as per the DA’s account. Subsequently, a semitruck driver swerved to avoid hitting him, causing a collision with a van carrying five occupants. The force of the impact ejected two individuals from the van onto the roadway.
The driver of the van was injured in the impact and ended up having his leg amputated.
Tragically, one of the ejected passengers succumbed to their injuries at the scene, while another passenger, who was injured but remained in the van, also lost their life. Additionally, a third passenger inside the van sustained severe injuries.
When authorities arrived at the scene and spoke to Edwards, she reportedly told them that Graf had started drinking before the event they had both attended that evening. Police at the scene suspected that Edwards was also drunk and took her into custody on suspected DUI charges. Edwards was confirmed to have a blood-alcohol content of .137, well above the .08 limit.
District Attorney Dalia Racine said in a statement, “The absurd recklessness demonstrated by these defendants resulted in a chain reaction that took and altered numerous lives that day. While this verdict will not bring back the lives lost or heal the life altering injuries caused, we hope that the jury’s finding will help on their journey to find peace and healing.”
Edwards previously pleaded guilty to DUI charges and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. She agreed to testify against her husband as part of her plea deal.
Graf was taken to a hospital before he was arrested. He was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and six counts of reckless conduct.
Following the verdict, the judge sentenced Graf to 20 years in prison, followed by four years of probation.
