Background: News footage of Grady Suggs III at his arraignment in January (WJRT). Inset: Amanda Rogers (McGeehan Funeral Home).
A Michigan man who was “super drunk” when he crashed his truck into a tree and killed a mother of two children is likely headed to prison.
Grady Suggs III, 32, entered a no-contest plea on Thursday to charges stemming from a Jan. 19 crash that killed 32-year-old Amanda Rogers, who was a passenger in his truck. According to coverage of the case by local news outlet MLive.com, Suggs drove his vehicle into a tree and then fled the scene on foot. He left Rogers in the car, and she was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
Police were able to track Suggs down with a K-9 unit, but he fled again before he was ultimately caught. He was taken to a hospital for minor injuries, where he later reportedly ripped out his IV and, for a third time, fled.
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Suggs was arrested again on Jan. 21 and booked into jail with a $100,000 bond, despite prosecutors asking for the judge to deny bond, saying that Suggs was a flight risk.
Suggs ultimately pleaded to one count each of operating a motor vehicle with a high alcohol content causing death, and failure to stop at a personal injury accident resulting in death.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by MLive.com, Suggs” blood alcohol content was 0.213 following the crash, almost three times the legal limit of 0.08. According to Michigan law, a BAC above 0.17 is considered “super drunk” and carries additional punishment, including a longer prison sentence and a requirement to undergo alcohol rehabilitation and treatment.
Rogers, who had been a manager at a local group home, is survived by two young children, both her parents, and several siblings, including a twin sister.
Court records do not indicate a sentencing date for Suggs following his no-contest plea on Thursday.
