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Family of Georgia student killed seeks damages
The family of a University of Georgia doctoral student is seeking monetary damages after the young woman was killed in wrong way DUI crash.
ATHENS, Ga. - The family of a University of Georgia doctoral student was in court to ask a judge to award them tens of millions of dollars in damages after their daughter was killed in a wrong-way DUI crash.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Marshals say the suspected drunk driver is still on the run.
Deadly wrong-way DUI crash lawsuit
What we know:
A damages hearing was held inside the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse on Tuesday regarding a civil wrongful death lawsuit between the family of Beth Buchanan and Cesar Raudales Macias.
The family is asking for $50 million in damages, according to family attorney Robert Snyder.
Buchanan, 23, was killed in a wrong-way crash in Barrow County in February 2023 while driving her mother to the airport. At the time, she was pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology at the University of Georgia.
The U.S. Marshals say the suspect, Cesar Raudales Macias, is a fugitive from justice.
Cesar Raudales (Barrow County Sheriff's Office)
Authorities say Macias is wanted for charges that include vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and driving the wrong way. There is a $15,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
‘She was incredibly, academically gifted’
What they're saying:
Timothy and Julie Olson-Buchanan, Beth’s parents, were in court for the damages hearing on Tuesday.
"She was all about helping others," Timothy said about his daughter.
"We tried to present a full picture of Beth," said Snyder. "She was incredibly, academically gifted and so many accomplishments, but she was also a really funny person, friendly person, warm. Just somebody that you really wanted to be around."
Julie said the university was Beth’s dream school.
"She wanted to be somewhere where there's diverse students and be able to put her research and her scholarship into action," Olson-Buchanan said.
She also said she was in the car with her daughter when the crash occurred.
"We saw just a glimmer of something, and then, caught this car coming at us in Beth’s headlights. The headlights were not on the other car," she recalled.The Buchanans said the hearing was about getting justice for their daughter more so than receiving any damages.
"It's important to us to have a public record, a public judgment, that states what he did, because right now, there is none," Timothy said.
Macias offers no comment
The other side:
Attorneys representing Macias did not comment following the hearing.
When will the judge rule?
What's next:
The judge offered a preliminary finding during court, but he did not rule on a final amount.
He expects to have a final ruling in the next 30 days.
Anyone with information on Macias’ whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshals.
The Source: Tim Buchanan and Julie Olson-Buchanan, their attorney Robert Snyder, and officials from the U.S. Marshals provided the details for this article. Additional details come from Athens-Clarke County court records. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used.