A jury on Friday found an Effingham County man not guilty of two counts of homicide by vehicle in the 2010 deaths of two teenagers.
The jury did find Robert Patrick Stone, 21, guilty of the misdemeanor of reckless driving.
Stone had also been indicted on three counts of serious injury by vehicle and weaving over roadway for a total of seven charges.
Stone was the driver of a 2000 Chevrolet Tracker carrying five passengers in the early morning hours of June 27, 2010. Stone lost control of the vehicle on Stillwell-Clyo Road. It flipped and ejected all the occupants. The car did not have a roof.
Killed in the accident were Whitney Jade Newman, 17, who died at the scene of the crash and William Neal Morgan, 17, who died in a hospital three days later from injuries received in the wreck.
Prosecutor Brian Deal told the jury that Stone’s reckless driving caused him to lose control of the car.
Stone’s defense argued that the wreck was a “horrible accident” and Morgan’s behavior in the car likely led to the wreck.
Stone testified Friday that Morgan had been drinking Bud Light all day and was drunk when Stone agreed to be a designated driver and drive the two to a party.
Stone tested negative for alcohol and drugs after the wreck.
Stone and Morgan were giving Newman and three other girls a ride from that party to Morgan’s river house when the crash occurred about 2:45 a.m. on June 27.
Lindsay Morgan Buchanan, 17 at the time of accident, was one of four females in the back of the four-seat vehicle.
Buchanan testified Thursday that Stone was “driving crazy” before the accident.
She also testified that Morgan was hanging out the window and on the windshield and was acting a little wild.
Amanda Duff, another passenger, testified Friday that Stone’s driving at first was fine.
“As soon as Neal started trying to crawl out of the window we started swerving a bit,” Duff said.
The fourth female passenger, Kristin Westenbarger, who was then 16, testified she saw Stone deliberately moving his hands back and forth on the steering wheel.
“At first it was okay (Stone’s driving),” she said. “After a while it progressed from all cutting up and joking around to swerving back and forth, trying to scare us I guess.”
Stone testified that he had to grab Morgan when he stood up and was lying on the windshield.
Stone said he then felt a big jerk on his left.
Stone’s attorney, Michael Classens, told jurors in his closing statement that the jerk Stone said he felt could have come from the left rear tire blowing out.
Classens pointed to tire pressure testing done after the car had been towed from the scene that showed zero pressure in the left rear tire. He also noted there were marks on the tire that he believed would come from a flat tire’s wheel scraping the road.
Classens also said his client was leaning over to grab Morgan when he lost control of the car.
Classens also told jurors the Tracker rolled over more than any car of its type made in 2000 and that the other three tires were the incorrect size and were all overinflated. He also said the car was carrying more weight than the maximum allowed.
Prosecutor Brian Deal told jurors in his closing argument that several witnesses had testified that Morgan’s behavior was independent of Stone’s driving.
Deal also said there was no evidence presented by the Georgia State Patrol that the tires or weight carried in the vehicle contributed to the wreck.
“This was no accident,” said Deal. “These people put their lives in his hands. They trusted him and he violated that trust.”
Sentencing for Stone will held on March 14. The maximum sentence for reckless driving is 12 months in jail.
The delay will allow for the victims' families to make statements at the sentencing hearing.
Robert Stone’s mother was thankful for the verdict.
“To God be the glory,” she said. “He’s free.”