Drunk Driver Who Killed Paulding Father of 4 Sentenced

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The accused drunk driver who was charged in the death of a Paulding County father of four last year will go to prison for the next five years, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

Cobb D.A. Vic Reynolds said Kenneth Lee Chitwood, 49, of Acworth, was sentenced to a total of 15 years by Superior Court Judge A. Gregory Poole. After five years in prison, Chitwood will serve the rest of his sentence on probation.

Prosecutors said Chitwood was drunk when he caused the death of James Peyton Underwood, 50, who was stopped on the side of the road on Mars Hill Road near Cobb Parkway on Feb. 22, 2014. Underwood was standing next to his pickup shortly after midnight when his vehicle was rammed by Chitwood’s Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

Underwood was knocked to the ground and died a short time later, Reynolds said.

Prosecutors said Chitwood’s blood-alcohol level was 0.27 percent.

“Mr. Underwood’s death was so utterly senseless and preventable,” ADA John Pursley said in a press release. “Drinking and driving is never acceptable.”

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