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Posted on 08/26/2003 7:42:25 AM PDT by van_erwin

	Wendy Jennings

The battle over how to prosecute a Gwinnett teen accused of initiating a deadly street race isn't over yet.

Gwinnett Juvenile Court Judge Robert Rodatus announced Monday morning that Wendy Jennings, 16, would be tried as an adult in Gwinnett Superior Court, where penalties can be much stiffer.

By Monday afternoon, Jennings' attorney, Walt Britt, announced his plan to appeal to the state Court of Appeals.

Police say Jennings initiated a street race with another teen on March 7 that caused a fatal wreck, killing her passenger, Jacob Miller, 17. The multiple-car collision also killed Julia Burns, a north Fulton grandmother on her way home from a Florida vacation.

Jennings is charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, racing, failure to maintain her lane and DUI due to smoking marijuana, according to police.

If tried in Juvenile Court, the most she could have faced was up to five years in a juvenile facility. If her case remains in Superior Court, she could face up to a 30-year prison sentence, if convicted on all charges, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said. The average prison sentence in Gwinnett for killing one person while driving impaired is about 8 1/2 years, he said.

While lawyers and the appellate court wrestle with Jennings' future, the teen remains at a treatment facility in Minnesota, Porter said. He would not elaborate on what type of treatment she is receiving.

Rodatus had to consider three main factors in deciding the teen's fate -- whether she is amenable to treatment, had committed prior juvenile delinquent acts and the severity of the offense.

Jennings has not been charged with prior driving offenses, Porter said. But neighbors had complained to her parents about seeing her zipping down area streets, Gwinnett police investigator W.A. Newman said.

At the time of the accident, Jennings and Susan Osley, 17, of Atlanta pushed their dueling BMWs beyond 90 mph in a 55 mph zone of bustling Peachtree Parkway, Newman said.

Porter said it could take up to six months to learn whether the appellate court affirms or overturns Rodatus' ruling. That means the case won't make it to trial this year, he said.

Osley, a Greater Atlanta Christian School student, is charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, racing and reckless driving for her role, Porter said. She is automatically treated as an adult due to her age. Her trial date has not been set.

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