An Effingham County Superior Court jury found Robbie Stone not guilty of all charges today except reckless driving in a wreck that killed two people.
The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning the verdict. Judge John R. Turner said sentencing will be next Thursday.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Deal said reckless driving is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail.
Stone was charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, three counts of serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving and weaving over roadway.
He had faced a maximum of 76 years in jail for all the charges.
Stone testified today that he had to pull a drunken passenger back into the vehicle before the crash in which the passenger and another person were killed.
“We were just having a good time, man, we were all laughing,” Stone testified.
Stone, 21, was the driver in the June 27, 2010, crash on Stillwell-Clyo Road.
“Neal was having the time of his life,” Stone said of passenger William Neal Morgan, who was one of the two people who died in the crash. ““I’m not saying (Neal) grabbed the wheel and caused the accident,” Stone said. “It was hectic.”
Testimony indicated that speed was not a factor in the single-vehicle crash early on a Sunday morning. Witnesses also said Stone was not impaired by alcohol or drugs.
All six people were thrown from the vehicle when it overturned several times.
Stone testified this morning that he was the designated driver, taking five other teenagers from one party to another.
Stone admitted that he was the one who allowed that many people to pack into the 2000 Chevrolet Tracker. A seventh person rode on the spare wheel of the open-top vehicle for a short time at the start of the ride, before leaving the vehicle safely.
On cross examination, Stone said he can’t explain testimony from two witnesses who said he was “driving crazy” before the crash.
Stone cried when he recounted Neal’s family meeting him with “open arms” after the accident.
Whitney Jade Newman, 17, died at the scene. Morgan, 17, died in a hospital three days later from injuries received in the wreck.