An Eatonton man will serve the next decade behind bars for being at fault in a car crash that took the life of a South Carolina woman.
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Amanda S. Petty sentenced 31-year-old Gregory Austin Meyer to serve 15 years for homicide by vehicle in the first degree.
Sentencing took place Nov. 6 in Putnam County Superior Court after Meyer entered a guilty plea. According to court records, Meyer will serve 10 years in confinement and the remaining five years on probation, according to court records.
On Dec. 5, 2023, around 10:45 p.m., Meyer was driving his 2003 Chevrolet Suburban northbound on Madison Road, according to a report by Putnam County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Adams.
Near Griffith Road, his Suburban crossed over the center line and crashed into a Nissan Altima being driven by Kayla Marie Lewis, 38, of Abbeville, South Carolina.
Lewis was reportedly traveling south on Madison Road when Meyer’s SUV crossed the double yellow lines and crashed into the Nissan. Adams wrote in his report that the two vehicles struck headlight to headlight on their respective sides. The impact caused Lewis’ Nissan to spin entirely around uncontrollably until it stopped on the southbound shoulder of the road.
According to the report, Meyer’s SUV also spun around, but it hit some mud on the shoulder of the road and flipped over. Meyer was ejected.
Lewis, who had been wearing a seatbelt, was killed in the crash, and Putnam County Coroner Hollis Harrison was called to the scene.
Harrison determined that Lewis had died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to Adams’ report.
Meyer, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the SUV and was taken by ambulance to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in critical condition.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said a test conducted by hospital medical personnel revealed Meyers's blood alcohol level was .19 when he was brought in by the ambulance from the wreck scene.
A passenger in Meyer’s Chevrolet also was seriously injured and taken to the hospital in the same ambulance as Meyer. The passenger was treated and released.
In March, a Putnam County Grand Jury indicted Meyer on charges of homicide by vehicle, serious injury by vehicle, driving under the influence, open container, possession of marijuana, failure to maintain lane, and driving without headlights. Meyer was released on a total of $20,000 in property bonds so he could continue his medical treatments and physical therapy to recover from his injuries sustained in the wreck.
In April, Meyer wheeled himself into Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in a wheelchair and surrendered to face his charges. According to court records, credit for the time served in jail will be applied to his sentence.