A woman who ran over her boyfriend and killed him with her SUV without even realizing what she had done was sentenced to seven years in prison this week, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel.
26-year-old Allison Ryan Chambliss had already pleaded no contest in March to a charge of DUI manslaughter after her actions resulted in the death of her 20-year-old boyfriend, Jeremy Honarvar Adams.
The horrific accident occurred last June, when Adams and Chambliss were driving home in separate vehicles from an Orlando bar at around 3:00 a.m. after drinking for several hours, according to a police report.
Adams was driving his motorcycle in front of his girlfriend’s SUV when she apparently ran him over. Somehow, Chambliss did not realize she had struck and killed her boyfriend until she noticed that Adams was no longer in front of her.
After arriving at the scene, police administered a breathalyzer test to Chambliss, who registered a staggering .243, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08.
For her actions, Chambliss was sentenced to seven years in prison, eight years of probation, and she must perform a significant amount of community service, which will include giving talks to children about the potential dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol.
In addition to these severe punishments, the judge in her case also revoked her driving privileges on a permanent basis. So, if Chambliss attempts to drive after she is released from prison, she could be incarcerated again.
Sources indicate that both Chambliss and Adams struggled with alcoholism, and that their parents had repeatedly urged them to seek counseling. Adams had previously sought counseling before, but his parents wished they would have secured similar treatment for his girlfriend.
According to Linda Adams, the mother of the deceased young man, her son was working as a waiter and hoping to take classes at Valencia College so he could fulfill his goal of becoming an English teacher.
In her words, her son’s death “should have never happened.” She also said that her family “will always be heartbroken at his loss,” and she generously observed that the event was “a tragedy for our family and for Allison’s family.”
Observers might question how it is possible that Chambliss struck a motorcycle without recognizing it, but the size and power of an SUV combined with the diminished capacities of a drunk driver can be an incredibly lethal combination.
