CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Smyrna man charged with homicide in a five-car wreck on U.S. 41A Bypass in March 2021 has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Michelle Lazu, 28 and a mother of four, was killed in the wreck, and three others were injured.
The wreck on Bypass
Around 3:30 p.m. on March 15, 2021, a multi-vehicle crash was reported near the Avalon Drive intersection on the Bypass involving five vehicles. The Toyota Corolla hatchback operated by Grady was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed, according to the records.
Video footage showed the car crossing the center line nine times in a 30-second period, the records continued. Grady’s vehicle hit two others before crashing head-on into the Dodge Avenger that Lazu was driving. Her vehicle then rolled, slid on its roof and crashed into a Ford F-150, the records said.
Plea deal and sentence
Dylan Connor Grady, 30, of Smyrna was arrested in August 2021, following recovery from injuries he sustained in the crash. He was indicted in June 2022 on 10 counts, including aggravated vehicular homicide, open container and prior DUIs.
On July 12, Grady pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide-intoxication in Judge William Goodman’s court, according to court records. All other charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Grady was sentenced to 12 years in prison with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Per standard policy, he will be eligible for parole after serving 30% of his sentence.