MARIETTA (Court TV) —A high school prank leads to a tragic accident. Is anyone to blame?

Suburban father Brett Tonkin became incensed when he found that a group of teen-age girls had "rolled" or thrown toilet paper all over his house and property. When the teen-agers tried to drive away, Tonkin got into his pickup truck and began chasing the girls. A high-speed chase ensued along dark, winding roads. Then, one of the teens lost control of her car, and it smacked head-on into a tree.

Three girls were killed, and the driver of the car and two other passengers were injured. According to prosecutors, Brett Tonkin literally chased the three girls to their deaths.

Tonkin faced trial for vehicular homicide and reckless driving. Tonkin claimed that he was only trying to get the car's license plate numbers, that he had stopped chasing the girls before the accident and did not cause their crash. If convicted of all the charges, Tonkin faced a maximum of eight years in prison and an $8,000 fine.

A Fatal Homecoming Week
The prank and the accident occurred in during Sprayberry High School's Homecoming Week. Traditionally, students not only celebrate school spirit, but also play several pranks on each other. Seniors normally tease juniors, juniors pick on sophomores, and sophomores target freshmen. Sabrina Tonkin, Brett Tonkin's 15-year-old freshman daughter and a member of the cheerleading team, was no exception.

As a prank, sixteen Sprayberry sophomores decided to "roll" the Tonkins' home, trees, and shrubbery with toilet paper in the early morning hours of October 30, 1996. Ashleigh Best, Jadie Burch, Leslie Caron, and Rachael Ford were among the pranksters. Around midnight, Brett Tonkin and his wife, Margaret, were awakened by the sound of a dog barking. Brett looked out his window and saw the girls rolling his home. Brett claims that this was the third time in three months that his house had been wrapped in toilet paper.

Brett Tonkin and his wife ran out of the house and started yelling at the girls. The teen-agers fled in two cars. One was a white car with 10 passengers inside; the other car, driven by Ashleigh Best, was blue and had Burch, Caron and Ford among its six passengers. The Tonkins jumped into their pickup truck and started chasing the teen-agers.

The white car reportedly took a different escape route and was not a part of the chase. Tonkin claims that Ashley Best was driving recklessley and at high speeds during most of the chase and that she did not have her headlights on. Best claims that she was speeding because she was afraid and did not want to get into any trouble. She also says that she had her headlights on initially and only turned them off just before the accident. In addition, Best claims the high beams from Tonkin's truck blinded her, effecting her driving .

Best lost control of her car and missed a turn about 1.6 miles away from the Tonkins' house. Best's car hit a tree at full speed. According to police, she was traveling 50 mph in a 25 mph zone and did not have her headlights on. Best and two of her friends were injured, but the three other passengers (Jadie Burch, Leslie Caron and Rachael Ford) were killed. Brett Tonkin and his wife claim that they did not witness the accident but only came upon the teen-agers after they had already crashed. Brett told investigators that he then returned to his house to get a robe for his wife. Then, as he was returning to the crash scene, Tonkin saw a patrol officer and told him about the accident. Ironically, the patrol officer had just received a call complaining about the car chase between Tonkin and Best.

Two Arrests, a New Law, and a Lawsuit
Brett Tonkin was on trial for vehicular homicide and reckless driving. Ashley Best also was charged as with vehicular homicide but as a minor. She pleaded guilty to the charge, had her driver's license suspended for three years and was sentenced to two years of probation in April 1997. The family of one of the car crash victims, Leslie Caron, filed a wrongful death civil suit against Brett Tonkin, Ashley Best and Best's father, Richard Best.

As a result of this accident, Georgia legislature created a graduated licensing system for teen-age drivers. Under the new Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibilty Act, which was signed into law in April 1997, teenagers who get a driver's permit at age 15 have various restrictions such as curfews and a limit of three passengers per car. In addition, teen drivers do not receive full drivers' privileges until they are 18-years-old. Under the old law, drivers had full privileges at age 16.

The Trial

Reliving the Chase
Opening statements in the trial of Brett Tonkin began on Sept. 8, 1997. The testimony of the first few day focused on the events that led to the crash. Jill Fazzio, one of the girls who "rolled" Tonkin's car and who drove the white car not involved in the crash, testified that she had nine passengers in her car (some of whom rode in the car's trunk) on the night of the accident. Ashleigh Best, the driver of the other car, had five passengers.

Fazzio said that the girls initially decided to target another student's house. However, when they found that this student's neighbors were watching them closely, the girls decided to go after a familiar target, Sabrina Tonkin. Fazzio admitted to rolling Sabrina Tonkin's house twice before. She and her friends pulled pranks on Sabrina because she was a popular freshman at Sprayberry High School.

Fazzio testified after she had rolled a bush at the Tonkin house, she heard Sabrina's father, Brett Tonkin, yelling. As the girls ran to the two cars, Fazzio saw Tonkin get into his pickup truck. She saw Tonkin's truck lights as he pulled up behind her to get her license plate numbers. Fazzio testified that she drove slowly and was trying to avoid the police because she had so many people in her car. She said she heard a loud screech and a bang but did not see the crash involving Ashleigh Best.

Best then took the stand and said that she suffered a broken ankle and broken shoulder from the crash. In addition, her memory has been slightly impaired since the accident. She testified that when Tonkin started chasing her, she drove fast and did not obey any stop signs. Best remembered turning her headlights on and off several times to prevent Tonkin from reading her license plate number.

Best said that her lights were off when she turned onto Scott Road, and she continued driving fast when she heard Brett Tonkin's truck's engine. Her friends urged her to "go, go, go." But, Best missed a curve on the road and ran into a tree. When asked why she drove so recklessly, Best claimed that she was afraid what would happen if everyone was caught rolling Tonkin's house. Best also testified that she would never have driven recklessly if Tonkin had not started chasing her. While she admitted having some responsibility for the fatal accident, Best felt that Brett Tonkin should bear most of the blame.

"You Killed My Daughter."
After Best and Fazio's testimony, various witnesses to the chase and accident reconstruction experts took the stand. The investigating police officer, Ronald Purdue, testified that Tonkin told him that his car was 150 feet behind Best's car. Purdue felt that Tonkin had an opportunity to obtain the license plate number before the fatal crash and that Tonkin's actions initiated the chase. But Purdue did not blameTonkin for the fatal crash; he placed that responsibility on Best, whom he noted was driving down a dark road at a high speed without her headlights on.

Then, two men who were driving on Chapman Road when the chase occurred came to the stand. One driver, Ken Harper, had stopped at a stop sign when he saw Best's car race by him. Best's car nearly hit his car. Harper said that the car was full of screaming, scared girls and that he was about to follow the car when he saw the headlights of Tonkin's truck coming. According to Harper, Tonkin was about 20 feet behind the girls and driving very fast. Harper then turned his car off the road to let Tonkin's truck pass. As the cars disappeared from his sight, Harper said that both Best and Tonkin turned left onto Wood Forest Road. (Brett Tonkin had told investigators that he had continued on Chapman Road until it intersects on Scott Road, the site of the crash, and then gave up the chase before the fatal crash.) The testimony of the other driver, Eric Morman, supported Harper's account.

Perhaps the most moving testimony of the day came from the mother of Leslie Caron. Marsha Caron said that after Leslie's death she met with Tonkin and his family. Tonkin wanted to tell her his side of the story. He told Caron that he only was chasing the girls to get the license plate numbers. But, Caron said, she told Tonkin that although he has justified his actions that night, he was still speeding and ran stop signs. Tonkin also said that he was angered by the rolling because he was very proud of his yard. Caron said she asked Tonkin, "What were you going to do to these girls?...You killed my daughter."

"If I Could Trade Places with Them, I Would."
Margaret and Brett Tonkin then testified about the fatal crash. Margaret described the first rolling incident as "embarrassing" but then said the second prank involving the cat litter and the toilet paper was much worse. Mrs. Tonkin said that when their daughter Sabrina received a nasty unsigned note from one of the pranksters, she thought that someone really did not like Sabrina. Two days before the prank that led to the accident, Sabrina told her parents that she had heard a rumor that their house would be rolled again. When the Tonkins caught Ashleigh Best, Jill Fazzio, and the rest of the girls rolling their house, they went after Fazzio's car first and wrote down her license plate number.

Then the Tonkins chased Best's car. Best turned off her car's headlights and the Tonkins were not able to get her plate numbers because of the plate's small print. Margaret Tonkin said that she and her husband chased the girls until they reached the stop sign on Chapman Road. The Tonkins apparently lost sight of Best's car until they saw taillights heading towards Scott Road. They assumed the lights belonged to Best's car. So, Brett and Margaret turned onto Scott Road and came upon the car wreck. Margaret claimed that she and Brett tried unsuccessfully to pry the doors open. Margaret banged on the car door and heard no response. Brett was shakened by the accident, and his mind "froze." Margaret said she told him to go back home to get his driver's license and her bathrobe.

Brett Tonkin broke down in tears several times as he recalled the crash. He claimed that he was "upset, but not terribly angry" when he discovered the group of girls rolling his house that third time. Brett also said that he was about a car's length behind Jill Fazzio's car when he obtained her license plate numbers. Contrary to the testimony given by several witnesses during the previous days, Brett testified that he was never closer than four or five car lengths behind Ashleigh Best. When asked why his account of how closely he was chasing Best's car differed from other witnesses' testimony, Brett had no explanation. He admitted speeding and bypassing stop signs, but denied driving recklessly enough to endanger anyone. Mr. Tonkin said that he chased Best even after he wrote down Fazzio's plate numbers because he wanted both to be held responsible for vandalizing his yard.

As Tonkin described the crash scene, he began to sob on the stand. He said that he asked the girls inside the car if they were okay, but they only responded with groans. Brett admitted that he "froze" and tearfully said that he guessed he was only a "take-charge" man in certain situations. He also admitted that he was so shaken by the accident that he never thought to call 911 when he drove home to get Margaret's robe. When asked if he was to blame for the death of the three girls, Tonkin tearfully said, "I feel so much guilt. If I could trade places with them, I would."

The Verdict