Cars drive through the intersection of Turtle Creek Boulevard and Gilespie Street where Emma Hackney, 29, was killed in a Nov. 30, 2025 crash. Photographed on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.
Juan Figueroa/Staff Photographer
A Dallas man who killed a young lawyer in a drunken, high-speed crash after slamming into her stopped vehicle pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter and other related charges.
Preston Petty, 27, entered pleas to all the charges he faced: intoxicated manslaughter with a motor vehicle, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle.
As part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Magistrate Judge Anthony Randall sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The Highland Park High School graduate could have faced a potential 50-year term if convicted at the trial that was set to begin Monday.
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Emma Hackney and her boyfriend, Franklin Fotopoulos, were stopped at a traffic light on Turtle Creek Boulevard at about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 30 when Petty’s Tesla sedan sped toward them.
The Tesla hit a couple of trees, snapping them at their base, and took down a crosswalk sign before hurtling into the eastbound lanes of Turtle Creek Boulevard, according to police. There, it struck a curb in the median, went airborne and crashed into Hackney’s car. After knocking Hackney’s car onto its side, the Tesla landed on top of it.
Emma Hackney is pictured with her boyfriend, Franklin Fotopoulos, at her sister Maggie’s wedding in 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Courtesy of the Hackney family
Hackney, a 29-year-old lawyer who grew up in the Preston Hollow neighborhood, was pronounced dead that evening. Fotopoulos and Petty’s mother, who was a passenger in Petty’s car, were seriously injured.
Related: Dallas man charged in crash that killed young lawyer was on bond in two other criminal cases
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During the hearing on Thursday, two prosecutors stood solemnly at the front of the courtroom, one holding a photograph of Hackney while the other read victim impact statements provided by Hackney’s family.
The family did not attend the hearing and instead asked prosecutors to read their impact statements to Petty and the court, Assistant District Attorney Priscilla Pelli told the judge. The statements were written by Hackney’s mother, Dr. Gail Hackney, her sister Maggie Pinholster, brother-in-law Ian Pinholster and Fotopoulos.
“Her death is constantly on my mind,” Hackney’s sister wrote. “The pain literally never goes away.”
Gail Hackney wrote that she’s unable to sleep and cries multiple times a day. She plans to sell her Preston Hollow home because it’s become too painful to remain.
Petty sat at the defense table in a tan jail uniform and handcuffs as Assistant District Attorney Kristin Treager stood in front of him, holding a photo of a smiling Hackney at her law office. He didn’t speak during the hearing, other than to answer the judge’s questions.
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Petty initially planned to apologize in court, his attorney Peter Barrett said. But after hearing the impact statements, he decided he would instead write a letter, the attorney said.
“He certainly lives with the guilt of what he did every day,” Barrett said after the hearing. “He felt that any brief words today would be insufficient.”
Petty has remained jailed since his arrest. He was given credit for time served and will become eligible for parole after serving five years, according to Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Andrew James, chief of the office’s vehicular crimes unit.