This story has been updated.

Decatur, GA — The defendant in the case involving the vehicle crash that killed Decatur High School graduate Kennedy Segars has been convicted. Reginald Stubbs, 55, has pleaded guilty in the vehicular homicide case, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced in a press release.

During the court proceedings on Friday, July 9, Stubbs pleaded guilty as indicted to charges of vehicular homicide in the first degree, DUI less safe, DUI per se, reckless driving and following too closely.

The fatal crash occurred on Oct. 13, 2018, in the 2900 block of Klondike Road in Lithonia. Segars was stopped at a traffic light behind three other stationary vehicles when Stubbs slammed into the rear of her vehicle going 46 miles per hour. There was no indication Stubbs ever attempted to stop, the press release states.

The impact caused a chain reaction wreck with the two other vehicles stopped at the light. Segars sustained a traumatic brain injury and died two days later.

Stubbs admitted to investigators that he had consumed multiple drinks earlier that day in combination with a pain medication. His blood alcohol content was 0.196, two times the legal limit. Following the guilty plea, Stubbs was sentenced by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott to a maximum of 16 years in prison, as recommended by the state, according to the press release.

Segars, 18, was a freshman at Alabama State University on a full ride scholarship and was an aspiring attorney. After her death, a vigil was held at Decatur High School. Segars’ kind spirit inspired many and her mother, Quvada Moreland, started the Kennedy Maria Segars Foundation to honor her daughter’s legacy. The foundation was launched on May 14, 2021, which would have been Segars’ 21st birthday.

The mission of the foundation is to personally, academically and professionally empower young people of color through guidance and education, Decaturish previously reported. Moreland also created a hydrangea garden in connection to the foundation to honor her daughter.

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