The driver in a 2019 joyriding wreck that caused the death of a teenager in Dade County, Georgia, was recently sentenced to 10 years of probation, including an eight-month jail term.
Logan Christopher Gordy entered a negotiated guilty plea to one count of homicide by vehicle and two counts of serious injury by vehicle on July 26, according to a news release from the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. The sentence was entered under the Georgia First Offender Act.
The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties.
On Oct. 3, 2019, a head-on collision caused the death of Gordy’s front-seat passenger, Alexis Moore, and also caused life-threatening injuries to Aubreanna Baxley, Gordy’s other passenger. The driver of the other vehicle, Matisha Barajas, suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries, the release said.
Gordy was a 17-year-old high school senior at the time of the wreck. An investigation found Gordy and his passengers were passing time before the Dade County High School homecoming parade, where Moore, a member of the school’s color guard, was set to perform, the release said.
“During this time,” the release said, “Gordy decided to joyride down McKaig Road, a road which has earned the nickname ‘roller coaster road,’ within the community due to its series of hills, and connecting Daniels Road, also with hilly terrain. As Gordy traveled down McKaig Road and Daniels Road, he operated his vehicle in an excessively reckless manner by driving at a high rate of speed and swerving back and forth across the roadway.”
While Gordy was driving west on Daniels Road, Barajas was driving east on Daniels Road with her 9- and 7-year-old children, heading to the parade, the release said. When both vehicles approached a curve at the top of a steep hill from opposite directions, Gordy was traveling on the wrong side of the road and hit Barjas’ vehicle head-on.
One of the victims suffered major injuries to her intestines and colon and spent nearly a month in intensive care. She also had significant spinal and rib injuries that required seven surgeries to repair. Another victim suffered a “significant” shoulder injury that required surgery, the release said.
An investigation conducted by the Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, along with data collected from both vehicles, determined Gordy’s vehicle was traveling “in excess of 68 miles per hour,” the release said. The speed limit on Daniels Road, where the collision occurred, is 35 mph.
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The release said Moore’s mother has been “outspoken” that she did not want any charges brought in the case, but the District Attorney’s Office said, “It would have been a dereliction of our constitutional and statutory duty to fail to bring charges in this case where the evidence established a clear and obvious violation of the law.”
Gordy was given first offender treatment, the release said, meaning that if he successfully completes his sentence without getting into any additional trouble, he will not be a convicted felon.
Prosecutors also took the opportunity at the close of the case to address misinformation reported by local media and social media before the trial. A newspaper article reported false information, like an animal in the road led to the crash, that injuries suffered were minor and that the district attorney was seeking a 45-year sentence, the release said. Those allegations were proven false by the investigation and trial, the release said.
In-depth investigations and injuries to witnesses added time to the case’s resolution, as did the pandemic’s shutdown of the grand jury process, the release said. Gordy’s attorneys also were given a continuance before the plea agreement was accepted by the defense.
“Hopefully, the facts we have set forth in this press release will set the record straight about the actual facts of the case,” District Attorney Chris Arnt said in the release.
“This case created a tragic and horrible situation for all the families involved, and nothing we do in court can ease the pain and loss suffered by the families of the victims,” Arnt added. “The plea agreement in this case reflects thoughtful consideration of the circumstances of the case, the input and wishes of all victims and family members of victims, and community safety.”
“I am pleased that Mr. Gordy chose to take responsibility for his actions that day and the irreparable harm that they caused,” Arnt said. “Nothing can bring back Alexis Moore, but hopefully, all the families can find some measure of closure with the conclusion of this case. I know that my staff will continue to pray for all the families involved in this case.”
– Compiled by Andrew Wilkins