Robert Atwood
Prosecutor Kate Lavery said a Dec. 4, 2011, wreck in St. Elmo in which James Michael Travillian was killed happened when Robert Allen Atwood "was showing what his Camaro would do."
Atwood, 22, entered a guilty plea to vehicular homicide in an appearance before Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern.
He will be sentenced on May 5. He faces 8-12 years. As a Range 1 offender, he would be eligible for parole consideration after serving 30 percent of the sentence.
Prosecutor Lavery said officers were dispatched to 4211 Tennessee Ave. after the 4:30 a.m. crash. She said both parties had been drinking. The victim had a blood-alcohol content of .22 and Atwood's was at .16 an hour and a half after the crash. Atwood had alprazolam in his system.
The prosecutor said Atwood was traveling northbound on Tennessee Avenue at a very high rate of speed when he lost control and crossed the road. His vehicle left the roadway, struck a fence and three trees, then hit two parked cars and a house. One of the cars that was hit suffered heavy damage. No one in the house was injured, but the house had structural damage.
The passenger was ejected and was dead at the scene.
There was heavy damage on the passenger side of the Camaro and minor damage on the driver's side.
Atwood was also injured in the crash.
Atwood, of 4511 Tennessee Ave., was arrested in Walker County and taken to the Hamilton County Jail. He was also charged with DUI, speeding and failing to maintain his lane.