SUMMERVILLE, Ga. (WDEF) — A man was recently convicted by a jury on several charges including vehicular homicide.
At 6:47 a.m. July 20, 2017, at the top of Taylor’s Ridge, Daniel James Craig was seen by a witness driving erratically.
Craig ran off the road multiple times, striking a guardrail, and eventually crossing over the center line.
After crossing the center line, Craig struck a family vehicle head-on.
The crash resulted in one death and two others severely injured.
“A blood draw performed at 9:30 A.M. measured the Defendant’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at .05. A crime lab expert testified about retrograde extrapolation, explaining that with the standard metabolism rate of .015 per hour, the Defendant’s BAC at the time of the 6:47 A.M. crash would have
been above .08, the legal limit.”– Lookout Mountain District Attorney’s Office
At trial, two witnesses testified that Craig admitted, after the crash, to drinking with friends until 4:00 a.m. and that he smelled of alcohol at the scene.
A Georgia State Trooper also testified that he also smelled alcohol coming from Craig and that his eyes were bloodshot and watery at the hospital.
Craig had previously pled guilty to a DUI in Kentucky back in 2023.
He was also arrested 20 days prior to the fatal crash for a separate DUI in Tybee Island, Georgia.
On August 28, 2025, a jury returned guilty verdicts on the following counts:
- First Degree Homicide by Vehicle
- Serious Injury by Vehicle
- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
While he faced a total of 10 charges, it’s unclear how many counts were associated with each offense.
The judge sentenced Craig to 30 years, with the first 10 to be served behind bars.
The family affected by the crash made the following statement:
“We appreciate that District Attorney Fuller received this case only a few weeks ago and made sure it went to trial. He has been focused on moving older cases like ours, and he got it done. Because of his work and the conviction his team secured, we can now have some measure of justice knowing that the
defendant is going to prison for a long time.”
District Attorney Clayton Fuller also made the following statement regarding the sentencing:
“This case should have been tried long ago, and I apologize to the Vaughn family for that delay. Since becoming District Attorney in 2023, one of my priorities has been moving older cases like this forward to ensure families see justice without waiting years. That’s because driving under the influence is nothing short of a deadly weapon on our roads and deserves swift justice. If you take a life in my Circuit driving drunk—just know this. The only bars in your future are prison bars.”
