A Dallas man who was out on bond in two separate Travis County criminal cases when he plowed his Tesla into a stopped car at a Turtle Creek red light, killing a 29-year-old attorney, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Preston Petty, 27, pleaded guilty to intoxicated manslaughter with a motor vehicle, intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the November 30, 2025, crash that killed Emma Hackney and seriously injured her boyfriend and Petty's own mother.
State District Judge Anthony Randall handed down the 10-year sentence as part of a plea agreement, according to The Dallas Morning News, which reported that Petty had faced a potential 50-year prison term. Petty received credit for time served and has remained jailed since his arrest, the paper reported. Under Texas law, a deadly-weapon finding tied to an intoxication manslaughter conviction bars parole eligibility until an inmate has served at least half of the sentence, meaning Petty will not be eligible for parole for five years, according to the Law Offices of Carl David Ceder.
The crash unfolded at the tangled intersection of Cedar Springs Road, Turtle Creek Boulevard, and Gillespie Street in Uptown Dallas, near the Mansion on Turtle Creek. Hackney and her boyfriend, Franklin Fotopoulos, were stopped at a traffic light on Turtle Creek Boulevard when Petty's Tesla sedan sped toward them, according to the Dallas Morning News. An arrest warrant affidavit cited by WFAA showed Petty was driving at high speed southbound on Cedar Springs Road when he snapped two to three trees at the base, knocked over a crosswalk pole, and struck a curb in the median before his car went airborne, vaulting into Hackney's Porsche Macan and landing on top of it.
Conflicting Statements and a DWI Arrest
Petty gave officers conflicting statements at the scene, initially claiming his mother had grabbed his phone while he was driving, before officers noted he smelled of alcohol and he failed field sobriety tests, per the same WFAA account. Petty's mother, who was a passenger in the car, was seriously injured and transported to Baylor University Medical Center with a fractured spine and a broken nose, the station reported. Fotopoulos was also seriously injured. Hackney was pronounced dead the evening of the crash, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The case drew heightened scrutiny because Petty was already out on bond in two separate criminal cases in Travis County involving drugs and a weapon at the time of the fatal crash, according to the arrest warrant affidavit reported by WFAA. Petty attended Highland Park High School, the Dallas Morning News reported.
A Letter Instead of an Apology
Assistant District Attorney Priscilla Pelli told the judge that Hackney's family had asked prosecutors to read their victim impact statements, since the family did not attend the sentencing hearing, per the Dallas Morning News. Petty did not speak during the hearing beyond answering the judge's questions. His attorney, Peter Barrett, said Petty had initially planned to apologize in court but decided instead to write a letter, feeling that brief words would be insufficient, according to the paper. Assistant District Attorney Kristin Treager and Andrew James, chief of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Unit, were also involved in the case, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Hackney's mother, Gail Hackney, wrote in her impact statement that she is unable to sleep and cries multiple times a day, and she plans to sell her Preston Hollow home, according to the newspaper's reporting. Hackney grew up in Preston Hollow and had built a career as an attorney in Dallas before her death.
A Legal Career Remembered
Before joining law firm Jackson Walker LLP as a finance attorney, Hackney worked at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas and served in SMU Law's Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women Clinic, according to SMU Dedman School of Law. Hackney earned her J.D. there in 2023, and in April, Jackson Walker LLP established the Jackson Walker Endowed Scholarship Fund in Memory of Emma Hackney at the school to honor her.
The case is one entry in a much larger statewide toll. Alcohol-related crashes caused 1,053 fatalities across Texas in 2024, accounting for roughly one-fourth of all traffic deaths in the state, according to Texas Department of Transportation statistics cited by Vision Zero ATX. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.08, intoxication manslaughter is classified as a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, though Petty's plea agreement settled on the 10-year term.
