If someone's been drinking, you usually take away their car keys, not give them yours.
Erin Brown did just that and now the resident of Hermitage, Tenn., faces 30 years in prison.
Back in December, Brown, 21, gave her car keys to her boyfriend, 23-year-old Trevor Bradshaw, thinking he was sober enough to drive.
Bradshaw wasn't and, as a result, he struck two pedestrians -- Michael Brooksher, 22, and Tommy Allen, 23 -- both of whom died, according to the Tennessean.
Bradshaw was charged with vehicular homicide and assault, and, if convicted, could serve a 30-year sentence.
In an unusual twist, however, Brown faces the same charges as her boyfriend, even though she had just been a passenger during the accident.
In Tennessee, vehicular homicide can be charged to someone who knowingly gives their vehicle to an inebriated driver, according to Gather.com's Abby Greenhill.
But being charged with a crime and being convicted of one are two different matters. Brown's lawyer, Nashville attorney Richard McGee, told the Tennessean that the district attorney would have “an awfully high bar to clear” to prove the charges against his client, an opinion shared by Nashville criminal defense attorney Joel Crim.
Brown wouldn't be the first non-driver prosecuted under this vehicular homicide law. The Daily Mail points out that in 2007 Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was arrested for letting his drunk friend drive his pickup. All charges were later dismissed.
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