ATLANTA THRASHER STAR INDICTED

Dany Heatley Charged in the September 2003 Death of Teammate

Atlanta-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announces the indictment today of 23-year-old Daniel James Heatley of Atlanta in the death of his friend and teammate Daniel Snyder. Heatley, a star forward with the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League, is charged in a six (6) count indictment with vehicular homicide in the first degree, vehicular homicide in the second degree, reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain his lane, and speeding. Vehicular homicide in the first degree is a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He could receive a maximum of 20 years in prison and fines totaling five-thousand dollars if he is convicted on all counts.

Heatley was driving his 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider F at a high rate of speed southbound on Lenox Road in the Buckhead section of Atlanta on the night of September 29, 2003, when police reports say he smashed the car into the brick pillar of a fence, splitting the car into two pieces. Snyder was thrown from the car and fatally injured. He died October 5, 2003 at Grady Memorial Hospital.

District Attorney Howard says “citizens must be held accountable when they ignore traffic laws which are there to protect and safeguard all of us. All of us have driven too fast at one time or another, but this case involves extreme speed in relationship to this curving, well-traveled road in a residential area. Lenox Road is home to dozens of densely populated condominiums, apartments and townhomes.”

“This is clearly a tragic example for everyone, especially our young people, of how horrible the consequences can be for an innocent victim when a driver chooses to ignore common sense safety rules.”

CONTACT: Lyn Vaughn, 404-224-0560 (office); 404-533-1381 (pager)