SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Two South Fulton families are grieving after their loved ones were killed in separate crashes. The people charged in both cases are now out on bond, and the families say they are upset at the amounts the suspects received.
“It’s hard to just think about how she’s not going to be here,” said Mikayla Whitaker, whose mother, 45-year-old Jovanna Whitaker, died in March after a crash on Flat Shoals Road.
In August, South Fulton Police arrested Dartail Hunter in connection with the death of Whitaker.
They also arrested Darnell Fuqua and charged him in a crash on Fulton Industrial Boulevard that claimed the lives of 51-year-old Latisha Mosley and 76-year-old Nancy Lee Veasy.
Both suspects were charged with felony homicide by vehicle.
“When you kill somebody during a traffic accident with some sort of aggravating factor, typically, that’s DUI or reckless driving,” Noah Pines, a partner at Ross & Pines, a law firm that handles personal injury, immigration, and criminal defense told Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers.
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The suspects posted bonds of $30,000 and $40,000 within 36 hours.
“They’re out there living their life, and we’re planning a funeral,” said Kwanna Siggers-Fletcher, Whitaker’s cousin.
The families said they were upset at what they felt were low bonds. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney explained that Georgia does not have a set bond schedule.
“There is not a bail schedule, so that it’s not the case that a DUI is $2,000 and a stolen car case is $10,000. The dollar amount is at the discretion of the judge,” McBurney said.
He added that bond decisions take into account whether someone is considered a flight risk.
“Bail, again, isn’t ever meant to be punitive. It’s meant to ensure that someone comes back to court,” McBurney said.
Whitaker’s family said they want harsher bond guidelines for people charged with homicide by vehicle. They have started a petition calling on lawmakers to change Georgia law.
“We have to wait on indictments, but this person is at home with their family, with their kids, with their mom, and it’s not right,” Siggers-Fletcher said. “There are several other families I try to advocate for now because people are really hurting.”
The petition can be found here.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office will finalize its investigation in these cases, then take them to a grand jury. Families will have to wait to see if indictments are issued, before the cases return to court.
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