Teen jailed in vehicular homicide
Judge stands firm: Plea for leniency from father of victim gets stern rebuke from bench
Milo Ippolito - Staff
Friday, March 2, 2001

A Gwinnett judge sent a message Thursday that teens who drink, drive and kill go to jail no matter who forgives them.

Judge Richard Winegarden ordered Brett "BJ" Broussard to prison for five years for killing Jarrod Scott, 20, in a high-speed crash in October 1998.

Broussard was 18 at the time. He had been drinking but not enough to be considered drunk.

Scott's father and other supporters pleaded with the judge to give Broussard a break.

Instead they got a lecture.

"Everybody wants to be tough on people who commit crimes and create tragedies unless it's someone they know," Winegarden said before announcing Broussard's sentence.

A jury found Broussard guilty of first-degree vehicular homicide for driving recklessly on a hilly, residential road.

He hit a dip, and the car flipped, spilling liquor bottles, passengers and stereo equipment on a neighbor's lawn.

Three of his friends had crowded into the cargo area of the car, which had a broken hatchback lock. Scott landed on a driveway and died.

"I've suffered a great loss," the deceased's father, Danny Scott, told the judge. "BJ is going to suffer the rest of his life, too. I don't think going to prison is going to make him suffer any more than he is suffering now. It was an accident, and it will always be an accident in my heart."

Broussard's attorney, Sid Moore, pointed out that Broussard, 20, had no prior record, except one traffic ticket.

That didn't impress the judge either.

"Someone who has one traffic ticket at age 60 may be more commendable than someone who has their first fatal wreck at age 18," Winegarden replied from the bench.

Broussard's boss testified that he is a hard worker and appears to have matured as a result of the car crash.

"We don't want half of our kids killing the other half of our kids so they can learn a lesson," Winegarden countered.

The judge took underage drinking into account, he said.

Broussard was, and still is, too young to drink legally. But the level of alcohol in his system was below the amount that would make a legal-aged drinker guilty of drunken driving.

Broussard admitted to speeding in a 25 mph zone. Witnesses said he appeared to be going more than 70 mph.

"Nobody made him put his foot down on the gas," Winegarden said. "Nobody made him drink."

Taking the witness stand briefly, Broussard said he has been giving talks to teens at his Lilburn church to let them know "how drinking, driving and speeding is wrong and (how) just one drink can affect your whole life."

Broussard went calmly with the deputies, and the judge said he hoped the time will help Broussard forgive himself.