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Hickey pleads guilty to vehicular homicide
Hickey w sm
HICKEY
A Liberty man charged in a 2012 traffic accident that resulted in a fatality last summer pled guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and assault before Judge Leon Burns, Jr. in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday .Johnny Lynn Hickey, 52, will be sentenced on May 24.He is facing a possible term of eight-12 years in prison and loss of his drivers license for up to three years.Hickey was originally indicted in December on one count of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, and driving under the influence.Hickey was charged in the death of 30-year-old Chris Gammons, who died on July 9, 2012 at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.Four people were involved in the accident which occurred on June 23, 2012 on Snow Hill.Both Gammons and Troy Bruno, a passenger in the vehicle with Gammons, were airlifted by Life Force and Air Evac helicopters.The other injured party was 32-year-old Cleva Elaine Gammons, 32, Chris Gammons’ wife.Hickey was not hurt.Hickey was traveling west on Highway 70 in a 2004 F350 just before 3:30 a.m. when he reportedly crossed into the path of an eastbound 2002 Nissan Altima, driven by Cleva Elaine Gammons.Chris Gammons was a front-seat passenger and Troy Bruno was a back-seat passenger of the Altima.Chris Gammons was ejected and landed on the highway in front of the Altima.Bruno was trapped in the backseat and had to be extricated from the vehicle.Hickey allegedly admitted to consuming four beers.Field sobriety tasks were administered, and Hickey reportedly did not perform as instructed.Hickey was transported to the emergency room of the hospital for a blood alcohol test and then to the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department for booking.The vehicular homicide indictment alleged that Hickey “killed Chris Gammons by the operation of the motor vehicle and that the killing was the proximate result of Hickey's intoxication, constituting the offense of vehicular homicide.”The vehicular assault indictments alleged that Hickey “recklessly did cause serious bodily injury to Cleva Gammons and Troy Bruno by the operation of a motor vehicle, and the serious bodily injury was the proximate result of Hickey's intoxication, constituting the offense of vehicular assault.”The DUI indictment stated that Hickey “unlawfully did, while under the influence of an intoxicant and/or drugs, drive or was in physical control of an automobile or other motor driven vehicle upon the public roads and highways... constituting the offense of driving under the influence of an intoxicant and/or drug, first offense.”