Late last week a Chattooga County jury found Daniel Craig, 34, guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) for a 2017 accident that resulted in the death of 85-year-old Opal Vaughn. The crash occurred when Craig’s Nissan Frontier crossed into oncoming traffic on Georgia Highway 1, colliding with a Ford F-150, where Vaughn was seated in the back without a seatbelt. Her son, Kenneth Vaughn, was driving and suffered injuries along with another passenger, Michael Vaughn.

Investigations revealed that Craig had been out drinking with friends the night before the crash and was allegedly still under the influence when the incident occurred. Trooper Lee Bowden testified that Craig admitted to consuming alcohol and claimed he had fallen asleep while driving. Craig had been returning home to Summerville after driving a friend to Rome when the accident happened.

Craig faced multiple serious charges, including two counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle and four counts of serious injury by vehicle. During the trial, his defense attorney contested the use of retrograde extrapolation, which estimates blood alcohol content at the time of the crash, arguing that the necessary report was not provided to the defense. However, Judge Brian M. House ruled that the blood test results were admissible, as the blood was drawn with consent and without coercion.

Prosecutors also sought to admit evidence of Craig’s prior DUI offenses to demonstrate a pattern of alcohol-related driving. He had pleaded guilty to a DUI in Kentucky in May 2023 and had another DUI arrest shortly after the fatal crash.

The jury found Craig guilty of the DUI last week.