A Cornelia woman charged in a DUI crash that killed a Habersham Central High School student in 2019 will spend the next 12 years of her life behind bars.
On Tuesday, Senior Judge David Emerson sentenced Cherrie Pulido to 15 years with 12 to serve in the death of Carlos Morales. The judge handed down the sentence after Pulido entered into a non-negotiated guilty plea.
Pulido’s trial was set to begin on Monday, March 6, but she instead pled guilty on Tuesday to homicide by vehicle in the first degree, DUI, and failure to maintain lane.
A Habersham County Grand Jury indicted Pulido on November 10, 2020, nearly one year after the collision on Camp Creek Road that killed the 17-year-old Morales and injured his brother and cousin. The teens were on their way to school when the wreck happened.
The Georgia State Patrol investigated the fatal crash. Troopers said at the time that the then-37-year-old Pulido was traveling south on Camp Creek Road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee when she crossed the centerline into the northbound lane. The Cherokee struck the Ford F-150 pickup truck Carlos Morales was driving head-on.
Morales received extensive medical treatment at the scene and was airlifted to Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) in Gainesville, where he later died.
