CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Smyrna man has been charged with vehicular homicide in the five-car wreck on U.S. 41A Bypass in March that left one woman dead and three others injured.
Michelle Lazu, 28 and a mother of four, was killed and three others were injured in the wreck.
In addition to vehicular homicide, Dylan Connor Grady, 28, was arrested Saturday on charges of reckless driving, reckless endangerment, no proof of insurance and open container violation.
The wreck
Around 3:30 p.m. on March 15, a multi-vehicle crash was reported near the Avalon Drive intersection on the Bypass involving five vehicles.
The blue Toyota Corolla hatchback operated by Grady was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed, according to the records.
Several calls were placed to 911 about the car and “the reckless manner in which is was operated,” the records said. Video footage showed the car crossing the center line nine times in a 30-second period, the records continued.
The vehicle crossed into a no-travel zone near Edmondson Ferry Road and attempted to pass several vehicles. As the car was traveling through the area, the no-travel zone transitioned into an eastbound lane, and the car was then traveling in the opposite lane of traffic.
Grady’s vehicle hit two other vehicles before crashing head-on into the Dodge Avenger that Michelle Lazu was driving. Her vehicle then rolled, slid on its roof and crashed into a Ford F-150, the records said.
Delays in arrest
According to police, the reason the arrest took so long was because Grady was also injured in the wreck, and he was recovering.
“This has been the first opportunity that he has been physically able to go to jail, and he’s still in a wheelchair,” Lt. Charles Gill told Clarksville Now.
At the time of the wreck, court records state, Grady was at the point of intoxication that his driving ability was impaired, and a search warrant was obtained to take his blood alcohol content, but the records do not disclose what his BAC was.
After the wreck, investigators found an open container of Redd’s Wicked Black Cherry Hard Ale in Grady’s vehicle, according to the records.
Grady is out on bond and is set to be arraigned on Sept. 8.
In August 2020 in Nashville, Grady was charged with DUI and an implied consent violation, according to Davidson County court records. He has a hearing on that case in November.
Victim’s family reacts
Ann Lazu, Michelle’s mother, told Clarksville Now that at first, she thought Grady’s injuries were punishment enough.
“I tend to put myself in other people’s shoes and think about how they would feel,” Ann Lazu said. “This is something I taught my daughter all her life.”
However, when she found out Grady has a history of drunk driving charges, her feelings changed.
“My daughter was a good girl, a very good girl. She didn’t cause trouble with the law,” Ann told Clarksville Now. “(Grady) robbed my grandchildren of their mother, and then he robbed my baby of a life.”
On the day of the wreck, Michelle was driving to pick up her younger sister to take her to a job interview.
“I lost my best friend. I lost my soulmate. I lost my other half. I was 17 when I had her, so we grew up together, and not to have her here … And she was always the one to check up on me,” Ann Lazu said.
It was not immediately clear who Grady’s attorney was, and Clarksville Now has reached out to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for more information.