A Night of Drunk Driving Ends with Tragic Consequences
Bibb County, March 22, 2023 – On March 20, 2023, Jason Ellis Partin, 50, from Gray, Georgia, pled guilty to First Degree Vehicular
Homicide and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in Bibb Superior Court.
Shortly after midnight on April 4, 2021, Tyler Hart, 18 years old at the time and who had just gotten off work, was inside of his parked vehicle with two other friends. Hart’s vehicle was parked on the shoulder of Knight Road right in front of his home. Partin was driving his Chevy Silverado pickup truck at an excessive rate of speed for that area. He recklessly drove into the opposite lane of travel, and he slammed into Hart’s vehicle. Upon seeing Partin’s truck heading directly for him, Hart attempted to get out of his vehicle. Tragically he was unable to do so before being struck and dragged underneath Partin’s vehicle for almost 100 yards.
Hart died from his injuries. His two friends were also injured and survived. At the time of this event, Partin’s blood alcohol level was .177, more than twice the legal limit in Georgia. In this non-negotiated plea, the prosecutors asked that Partin be sentenced to the 15-year maximum for this crime. The defense argued for a limit of five years to serve. After hearing evidence and victim impact statements from Hart’s mother and the mother of one of the other injured boys, the Court sentenced Partin to 15 years, with the first 12 to be served in prison.
“My heart goes out the family of this young man, whose life was cut short by such recklessness,” said Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard. “The dangers of drinking and driving cannot be overstated, are very real, and can have terribly tragic consequences. Individuals who bring harm to others in this manner can expect to be prosecuted by my Office to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office especially thanks the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this case, which has helped to bring a measure of justice to a grieving family and the friends of Tyler Hart.
