Man jumps from car as he argues with wife, causing deadly crash, GA officials say
A man jumped out of a car on an interstate during an argument with his wife, then two people died in a crash while vehicles swerved to avoid hitting him, according to prosecutors in Georgia.
Kristopher Graf, 45, was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and six counts of reckless conduct on April 24, and a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison, according to the Douglas County District Attorney's Office and court records.
McClatchy News reached out to Graf's attorney for comment April 29 but did not immediately receive a response.
Graf and his wife had been drinking during a night out in Atlanta on Jan. 14. 2022, and they were on their way home when they got into an argument in the car, prosecutors said in a news release.
Graf's wife was driving under the influence and was going about 80 mph on Interstate 20 when Graf 'flung' himself from the car and landed on the interstate, according to investigators.
A semitruck swerved to avoid him, then a van carrying five people tried to avoid hitting him as well and ended up crashing into the semi, throwing two passengers onto the interstate, authorities said.
One passenger in the van died at the scene, as did one of the two people ejected from the vehicle, prosecutors said. The driver of the van had a leg amputated, and the second person ejected from the van 'miraculously' wasn't hurt, authorities said.
Another passenger in the van was seriously injured, as was Graf, but they survived, officials said.
Graf's wife, Stacy Edwards, had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, and she pleaded guilty to a DUI charge and was sentenced to probation, prosecutors said.
'The absurd recklessness demonstrated by these defendants resulted in a chain reaction that took and altered numerous lives that day,' District Attorney Dalia Racine said.
Douglas County is part of the Atlanta metro area.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
ICE officers assaulted during raid that nabbed 70 illegal immigrants at meat plant: DHS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and their federal partners were assaulted by an illegal immigrant while executing a warrant Wednesday at a meat-producing plant in Omaha, Nebraska. During the raid, ICE detained more than 70 illegal immigrants, some of whom had local warrants for their arrests, prior DUI convictions or had previously been deported, the agency said. "Yesterday, an illegal alien from Honduras brandished a weapon and assaulted federal agents and officers who were doing their job: protecting American citizens, the public and businesses who are being victimized through identity fraud," ICE acting Director Todd Lyons said Wednesday. California Sheriff Says Newsom 'Encouraged' La Riots As Ice Arrests Violent Illegal Aliens "Let's be clear — this wasn't just someone 'out of status.' This was a violent criminal who attacked law enforcement while they were serving the public, which is why the term 'criminal alien' is a distraction. "If you're here illegally, you've already broken the law. When you break the law by coming here illegally and then threaten and assault federal officers on top of that — you're a threat, plain and simple." Read On The Fox News App Many of the 70 people detained Wednesday may now face additional federal charges, including fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents; assaulting a federal officer; resisting arrest; illegal reentry; and/or misuse of Social Security numbers, ICE said. "Our ICE agents and officers — along with our federal partners — put their lives on the line every day to protect the American public. They don't ask for praise. They ask for the support," ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito said in a statement. "The reckless rhetoric being thrown around doesn't just insult their sacrifice, it actively puts communities at risk, undermines law enforcement, and emboldens those who are actively looking to do harm. These men and women swore an oath to uphold the law and should not have to fear the very people they are sworn to protect." Dozens Of Anti-ice Rioters Arrested In La As Trump Sends In National Guard To Quell Violence ICE did not specify how officers were assaulted, but protesters who gathered outside the food plant Tuesday during the raid jumped on the front bumper of an official vehicle, while others threw rocks at ICE vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from the operation. Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods, told The Associated Press he was surprised by the raid, saying the plant uses E-Verify to confirm the immigration status of workers before hiring them. Ice Arrests 'Worst Of The Worst' Illegal Aliens In Los Angeles While Protesters Advocate For Criminals: Dhs "My biggest issue is: Why us?" Hartmann told the AP. "We do everything by the book." Hartmann added that ICE officers at the raid apparently told him the E-Verify system is broken. "I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?" Hartmann told the AP. "This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?" Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said Wednesday in a Facebook post that officials are "telling friends and allies to standby momentarily as we continue to gather and verify information and coordinate proper guidance for families affected." "There are response groups that have been activated and also safe spaces for families to go, alongside legal representation that is being coordinated," Garcia said. "We are still trying to find out more information on how many were detained today, how many sites (Lala and Glenn Valley verified thus far, JBS may have been mistakenly listed we are looking into it), and where those detained are being taken." The operation was a multi-agency effort that included ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations Omaha; DHS Security Office of Inspector General; Department of Justice; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Marshals Service; IRS Criminal Investigation; Nebraska State Patrol; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the Nebraska Department of Vehicles Fraud Unit. The Associated Press contributed to this article source: ICE officers assaulted during raid that nabbed 70 illegal immigrants at meat plant: DHS
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Judge Upholds Doxxing Claims Against TDE
The two women suing Top Dawg Entertainment for sexual harassment, assault, and negligence won an early round in court Wednesday when a judge ruled they can proceed with their doxxing claims against the prominent hip-hop label. The women first sued TDE in on Dec. 6, 2024, claiming the company and employees including high-ranking executives Anthony 'Moosa' Tiffith Jr. and Brandon Tiffith – the sons of TDE founder Anthony 'Top' Tiffith, Sr. – allowed a 'pervasive' culture of sexual harassment to run unchecked at the label for years, leading to the women's alleged abuse. More from Rolling Stone Rapper Silentó Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Cousin's Shooting Death Former Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Addresses DUI Arrest: 'I Make No Excuses' Macklemore's Seattle Home Robbed, Nanny Sprayed With Bear Mace The lawsuit, which referred to the women by the pseudonyms Jane Doe and Jane Roe, flew under the radar for nearly two months. The women's lawyers then issued a press release on Jan. 31, summarizing the claims. A day later, the law firm representing TDE responded with a statement identifying the women by name and calling the lawsuit a 'shakedown' for $48 million. Four days after that, the women filed an amended complaint that was triple the size of their original, filled with alleged text messages and other evidence to support their claims. They also added the doxxing claims. 'Plaintiffs cannot imagine a legitimate, non-harassing purpose behind TDE's release of their personally identifying information,' the amended lawsuit said. TDE, the label best known for guiding the careers of Grammy-winning artists Kendrick Lamar and SZA, quickly sought to block the doxxing claims. It said the women's Jan. 31 press release was so inflammatory, the company had a right to name them to 'correct false statements.' Before the judge ruled in the women's favor Wednesday, a lawyer for TDE repeatedly argued that the label's 'shakedown' statement naming the women was protected by the First Amendment. She said the women had not pursued, much less received, a court order sealing their identities when TDE named them on Feb. 1. 'There's no statute, no law, no order that was violated by the any of the contents of the defendants' statement,' TDE lawyer Allison Hart told Los Angeles County Judge Michael E. Whitaker in a courtroom in Beverly Hills. Hart said the music industry is a 'relatively small world,' and TDE identified the women by name to counter the credibility of their 'very salacious and false press release.' '[The lawsuit] implies that they had some inside, direct knowledge that there is a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment present within our client's organization. It was necessary to identify the plaintiffs in order to refute that statement,' Hart argued. She said the women were aware of the process for obtaining a court order sealing their names. She suggested they didn't pursue it in a timely fashion. Judge Whitaker said it didn't matter that the women hadn't yet received the court's blessing. They still had time. 'Your clients took the next step of identifying them by their names, their true identities,' the judge scolded Hart. 'The argument about whether or not they could have proceeded [with pseudonyms] was for another day. If [TDE's] press release simply said, 'We've been sued by Jane Doe and Jane Roe, and we deny all the allegations,' that would have been fine. But at that time, according to the public record, they were Jane Doe and Jane Roe.' In his written ruling, the judge said, 'publicly revealing [plaintiffs'] true identities was not a necessary part of correcting the narrative.' Parties in California civil actions are allowed to proceed to trial with pseudonyms if they can demonstrate that disclosing their real names could result in a specific harm, such as retaliatory physical or mental harm. The potential harm must be such that it creates an 'overriding interest' that outweighs possible prejudice to the opposing party or the public's interest in knowing a party's identity. After the women were named in the statement issued by TDE's law firm, they filed their amended complaint with their real names, Linda Luna and Ayah Altayri. Luna said the alleged doxxing led to a deluge of harassing messages. She said two of her clients terminated their professional relationships with her amid the firestorm. In the lawsuit, Luna alleges that while working for TDE starting in 2019, Brandon Tiffith, the company's chief marketing officer, subjected her to unwanted sexual advances. She alleges that on one occasion, he attempted to force her into oral sex, stating, 'You know this was bound to happen.' Luna further claims TDE President Anthony Tiffith, Jr. sexually harassed her repeatedly, including over text, and that TDE failed to pay her. Altayri alleges she endured multiple instances of sexual harassment and assault by other men purportedly associated with TDE while on TDE property. During one alleged incident, she was coerced into consuming alcohol while underage for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the lawsuit claims. 'We have the utmost respect for the court, but believe that today's decision that our clients were not allowed to disclose the plaintiffs' names was in error, and we intend to immediately appeal and continue vigorously defending against plaintiffs' bogus claims,' Hart says in a statement sent to Rolling Stone. Shounak Dharap, the lawyer who appeared in court on behalf of the women, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A trial in the case has been set for May 17, 2027. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Roving DUI patrols to saturate three counties this weekend
(WBRE/WYOU) — Dozens of police officers and state troopers will be out patrolling three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania this weekend as part of Operation Nighthawk. Pennsylvania State Police say Troop P Wilkes-Barre will host Operation Nighthawk, a specialized training and enforcement program that targets drunk driving. Man shot in forehead during road rage incident, DA says 'The program combines classroom instruction, workshops on DUI case law and drugged driving, and roving DUI patrols in collaboration with municipal law enforcement partners,' state police said in a media release. More than 60 state troopers and municipal officers will saturate areas designated for enforcement in Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Monroe counties on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
