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Man injured in accident faces charges in previous wreck
Court date for May wreck not set
0916Boozer
Matthew Boozer

The driver involved in an accident on Aug. 31 on Friendship Road that seriously injured him and his two children faces several charges from a wreck in Gwinnett County in May.

In the most recent wreck in Flowery Branch, Matthew Boozer, 37, of Buford, was traveling west on Ga. 347 with his two children when, for unknown reasons, he failed to maintain his lane and struck a concrete mixer truck head-on, authorities said.

Carter Boozer, 7, was flown to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and Katie Boozer, 9, was flown to Children's at Scotish Rite in Atlanta.

Chief David Kimbrell of the Hall County Fire Department said Carter Boozer was taken off life support Sept. 9 and died from injuries sustained in the wreck. A spokeswoman for Scotish Rite said Katie Boozer recovered from her injuries and was discharged.

Matthew Boozer was flown to Atlanta Medical Center following the wreck and a spokeswoman for the hospital said he remains in intensive care, but she could not release his status.

On May 15, 2011, Matthew Boozer was involved in another accident on Buford Drive in Gwinnett County.

Matthew Boozer was driving a 2004 Ford F250 when he "failed to maintain his lane swerving from the right shoulder of Buford Drive across two southbound lanes of Buford Drive," according to an incident report.

He then struck a Ford Focus but failed to stop and proceeded to run a red light and hit a Honda Civic, causing multiple injuries to the driver of that vehicle.

He again failed to stop and drove through the front yard of a residence on Buford Drive before entering Laurel Drive and hitting an Acura Integra, also causing multiple injuries to the driver of that vehicle. Matthew Boozer then "backed up and attempted to drive away before his vehicle's mechanical damage caused him to come to final rest."

As a result, he was charged with hit-and-run, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, failure to obey a traffic control device and serious injury by vehicle. Officers did not test his blood-alcohol level following the wreck.

"The points alone for all these charges would probably be enough to revoke his license," said Cpl. Jake Smith, public information officer for the Gwinnett County Police Department. "Reckless driving is one of the highest point totals you can get," he said.

At the time of the wreck in Flowery Branch, however, Matthew Boozer's driver's license had not yet been suspended.

According to Georgia law, if a driver determined to have caused an accident resulting in death or serious injury fails to stop, that driver shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction, shall receive a prison sentence of one to five years.

Also in Georgia, a conviction of leaving the scene of an accident results in a mandatory driver's license suspension.

According to Gwinnett County court documents, the case against Matthew Boozer has not been settled, and Smith said Boozer would need to go before a judge before his driver's license can be suspended.

Messages left for Matthew Boozer's defense attorney, Wayne Lancaster, were not returned.

Smith said the Accident Investigation Unit is still investigating the May accident and "there will be a more detailed investigation down the road, but it usually takes some time to complete."

A court date has not been set for Matthew Boozer's May wreck.

A spokeswoman for Georgia State Patrol's Gainesville Post, which is investigating the Friendship Road accident, said it is unclear whether charges will be filed against Matthew Boozer in relation to that incident.