Augusta teacher sentenced for DUI crash that maimed teen

Jonathan Carr has been sentenced in his 2015 DUI conviction.

Jonathan Carr has been sentenced in his 2015 DUI conviction.

Four years after crashing his Dodge pickup truck into a 14-year-old girl and causing her to lose part of her leg, a high school teacher convicted of driving under the influence was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in jail, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. 

Jonathan Carr, now 27, crashed into the yard of a Columbus home the evening of June 17, 2015, and struck the teen, who was talking on her phone, the newspaper reported.

“(She) ... was thrown into a metal barbecue grill,” the newspaper wrote. “Her body was so entangled, rescuers had to extricate her.”

After several surgeries, one of her legs was amputated below the knee, the newspaper wrote.

Prosecutors said Carr consumed an entire bottle of rum before getting behind the wheel. With a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, he reportedly exited the truck after the wreck and told bystanders, “I am (expletive) up.”

The witnesses attacked Carr, who taught at an Augusta high school at the time.

He was charged with DUI, serious injury by vehicle and driving without proof of insurance, the Ledger-Enquirer reported in 2015. He plead guilty Wednesday.

Despite his charges, Carr remained a teacher, the newspaper reported. He was transferred from Augusta’s Josey High School to a Richmond County alternative school, where he was named teacher of the year for the 2018-2019 school year.

He faced up to 15 years behind bars, but teenager he struck told the judge she and her family  “didn’t want his life wrecked.”

Carr, who previously had no criminal record other than a speeding ticket, was sentenced to 180 days in a detention center, 15 years on probation, a $5,000 fine, restitution and 300 hours of community service. He is also required to speak to high school students about the risks of drinking and driving and undergo a substance-abuse and a mental-health evaluation, the paper reported.

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