Woman Gets 15 Years For Driving Drunk, Killing Grandmother In Cobb

MARIETTA, GA -- A woman convicted of vehicular homicide after she drove drunk and slammed into a grandmother, killing her, has been sentenced to 15 years, including nearly a decade in prison, Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds announced Thursday.

Courtney Alysabeth Washbourne, 39, of Maine, pleaded guilty this week to multiple charges, including disregarding a traffic light and having an alcoholic open container in her vehicle.

Federal prosecutors said that last August, Washbourne was behind the wheel of a red Nissan Xterra traveling southbound on Johnson Ferry Road near Woodlawn Parkway in Marietta when she approached a red traffic light.

Instead of stopping, Washbourne barreled through the intersection and struck Sharon Freeman, 59, and two other vehicles.

Freeman, a Roswell mother and grandmother, was pulled from her red Toyota Corolla and rushed to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where she was declared dead.

Police investigators found an opened Bud Light Straw-ber-rita can in Washbourne's vehicle. A subsequent blood sample showed that Washbourne’s blood-alcohol level was 0.174.

“Ms. Washbourne made life-changing decisions that day when she consumed alcohol and drove her motor vehicle. The family of Ms. Freeman will never be the same. With a prior DUI from 2009, Ms. Washbourne knew there were serious consequences to drinking and driving,” Assistant District Attorney Patricia Hull said in a statement.

Washbourne was sentenced in Cobb County Superior Court to 15 years total, with an eight-year mandatory prison term and the rest on probation.

Washbourne was represented by Atlanta attorney Michael Hawkins.

Image courtesy of Cobb County DA Office / Patch