Husband Pleads Guilty To Vehicular Homicide in Wife's Death

Photo: Ryan Patrick Quinton. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office

The husband charged with vehicular homicide in the fatal accident that killed his wife the night of their wedding has pleaded guilty to the crime.

Jasper resident Ryan Patrick Quinton on Tuesday entered a guilty plea to one count of vehicular homicide based on reckless driving and to a separate accusation stemming from a subsequent arrest for driving under the influence in Pickens County, the office of Grisham & Poole, PC said in a press release.

The Canton-based law firm represented Quinton in the case.

The Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office requested a sentence of 15 years total, with seven years to serve in prison. Quinton’s defense attorneys asked Superior Court Judge David Cannon, Jr. to sentence their client to 15 years of probation and require completion of the Cherokee County DUI Drug Court program, a 24-month program of intense rehabilitation.

Cannon subsequently sentenced Quinton to 15 years probation on the vehicular homicide charge. Defense attorney Scott Poole noted Quinton will be required to serve 90 to 120 days at a probation detention center.

Once that service is complete, he will be transported back to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center for “two to three months before transitioning back home,” Poole stated.

After he is released from custody, Quinton is required to complete the Drug Court program. Additionally, he will be required to wear an alcohol sensing device for 180 days, and will not be allowed to drive for a period of five years, subject to petitioning the court for modification.

The attorney’s office noted sentencing in the case was not negotiated, as it was at the discretion of the court.

“We went into this hearing knowing there was nothing the court could do to Ryan that would be worse than losing his wife,” Scott Poole said in a statement. “While Ryan would have preferred to go home tonight, he takes full responsibility for his actions and understands the court’s decision. Ryan appreciates all the support he has received throughout this tragedy. He looks forward to returning to both his and Kali’s family’s and to beginning his journey towards sobriety.

“Our hearts go out specifically to Kali’s family. This case has been unusual in that we have worked with them and gotten to know them because of their support for Ryan. We hope that both families can put this behind them and look forward to a brighter future.”

District Attorney Shannon Wallace said her office’s sentencing recommendation was “based on the facts of the case, the defendant’s history and the subsequent charge of driving under the influence he received in Pickens County just months after his wife was killed in the Cherokee crash.”

“This was a difficult and unusual case for our office, as the victim’s family and friends opposed this prosecution and advocated for no prison time whatsoever,” she added. “We respect the decision of the court to show Mr. Quinton mercy while seeking rehabilitation for him and hope the sentence brings the victim’s family some measure of peace.”

On Dec. 29, 2013, the Quintons were traveling in a Pontiac Firebird along Highway 5 near Ball Ground when the husband initially told police he tried to avoid hitting a dog in the roadway when he lost control of the vehicle.

The vehicle traveled off the road and down an embankment, overturned and Kail Dobson was ejected from the vehicle. The car then came to rest with the woman trapped under the vehicle. She died at the scene of the accident. The Quintons had just wrapped up the celebration of their wedding reception at The Wheeler House when the accident occurred.

Quinton was originally charged by the Georgia State Patrol with laying drags, DUI, weaving over roadway, reckless driving and vehicular homicide in the single-vehicle crash.

Quinton was indicted in June by a Cherokee County grand jury on three counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree charges. In May, Quinton was arrested in Pickens County on driving under the influence, failure to stop at a stop sign and failure to drive within a single lane charges.

That arrested prompted the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office to revoke his bond and arrest Quinton on a bench warrant.

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