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Written by: A. Smith
Published April 21, 2025 @ 3:11 PM ET
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – A woman convicted in a deadly 2009 Easter Sunday crash that killed five people, including four members of the same family, has been released on parole after serving just 14 years of a 36-year prison sentence.
Aimee Michael, who was 24 at the time of her conviction, was released on Dec. 10, 2024, according to the Georgia Department of Pardons and Paroles. She is currently residing at a rehabilitation facility in Emanuel County and will remain on parole supervision for the next 20 years.
Michael was convicted in 2010 of five counts of vehicular homicide, one count of serious injury by vehicle, six counts of hit-and-run, and additional misdemeanors including reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, and tampering with evidence.
The charges stemmed from a high-speed, chain-reaction crash on Camp Creek Parkway near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On April 12, 2009 — Easter Sunday — Michael lost control of her BMW, setting off a multi-vehicle collision that claimed the lives of Robert and Delisia Carter, their 9-year-old daughter Kayla, and 2-month-old son Ethan. Six-year-old Morgan Johnson, a passenger in another vehicle, was also killed. Morgan’s mother, Tracie Johnson, was seriously injured but survived.
Michael fled the scene and avoided arrest for more than a week. Authorities said she and her mother, Sheila Michael, conspired to have the damaged vehicle repaired to cover up her involvement. Police arrested Aimee Michael after neighbors tipped off investigators. Her mother later pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension and was sentenced to eight years in prison. She served three.
During the trial, Michael’s attorneys acknowledged that she fled the scene but claimed she had been sideswiped by another car and was not responsible for causing the wreck. The jury rejected that argument and found her guilty on all charges. At her sentencing, Michael tearfully apologized to the victims’ families, saying, “I have wronged three families, and for that I am sorry.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams, who presided over the case, said Michael’s decision to flee and attempt a cover-up weighed heavily in her sentencing.
“You left the scene of the crime,” Adams told her. “And then you followed a course of conduct designed to cover up what happened.”
Prosecutors had sought a 50-year sentence, while the defense requested 10 years. The judge ultimately sentenced Michael to 36 years behind bars.
Despite that, under Georgia law, Michael became eligible for parole after serving seven years. A spokesperson for the parole board said she was released after 14 years because the board determined there was a reasonable probability she would not reoffend.
The case drew national attention at the time due to the scale of the tragedy and the efforts to evade accountability. The recent parole decision has reignited public scrutiny and deepened the grief of some victims’ relatives, who believed Michael should have served her full sentence.