A man from North Carolina has been found guilty of a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of a father and his two young children, while also leaving several others injured. Testimonies in court detailed how he crashed into a golf cart carrying the victims while driving under the influence.

During Austin Harmon’s trial, Todd Lendernan, the chief of the Iredell County Rescue Squad, shared a harrowing account, as reported by local ABC affiliate WSOC. “I saw a baby lying in the road,” he recounted. “There was one person face down, already deceased, and another being attended to by others. I also witnessed the mother desperately pleading for more tourniquets.”

The 26-year-old Harmon was found guilty of driving while impaired and felony serious injury by vehicle following the June 2022 incident. This tragic event resulted in the deaths of Michael Marlowe and his children, 5-year-old Bentley and 13-year-old Jada. Michael’s fiancée, Amy Mills, and their 2-year-old daughter, Bailey, sustained critical injuries but survived, as did a family friend, 16-year-old Teagan Murphy.

Amy Mills, who lost part of one leg in the crash, recalled the terrifying moment. “I knew we were going to be hit,” she said. Speaking about her daughter Bailey, who suffered severe injuries, Mills added, “She was so small. I just flung her and hoped for the best.”

Reports indicate that Harmon was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.12 when he veered across the centerline on Fort Dobbs Road in Statesville, colliding with the golf cart. Although young Jada initially survived the impact, she succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.

“I kept saying, ‘I have to find my kid. I needed my kid,’” Mills remembered saying about Bailey after attempting to throw her to safety, according to WSOC. “So, they went and got her, and they sat behind me.”

Murphy, who was friends with Jada, said in court Monday before Harmon was sentenced that she carries “guilt from still being alive while she’s not,” according to Iredell Free News. Michael Marlowe’s father, Ed Marlowe, blasted Harmon for what he did and urged him to find remorse while behind bars, the Free News reports.

“He’s ruined all of our lives forever,” Ed Marlowe said.

It took jurors just six hours to convict Harmon. He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 20 years and maximum of 30 in prison. Harmon declined to speak during the hearing, but his lawyer offered up a statement claiming he was “inconsolable” after what happened.

“He would do anything to go back and undo the events of that day,” attorney Kaleigh Darty told the court, according to the Free News. “He understands the gravity of what was lost to the Marlowe family.”