Hit-run suspect faced similar charges in 1997

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A man now charged in a hit-and-run accident that killed a 4-year-old Marietta boy Saturday night served prison time after being charged in two hit-and-run wrecks that occurred on the same day 13 years ago.

One of the wrecks happened on Austell Road, about three miles from the spot where A.J. Newman was killed Saturday.

Cobb County police records show Jerry L. Guy rear-ended a car Feb. 17, 1997, on Austell Road at Pair Road. Guy drove away and later ran into another car on Smyrna-Powder Springs Road, injuring two people. Police said he fled on foot.

He pleaded guilty to several charges and was sentenced in June 1998 to two years in prison and three years on probation. No one was killed in the 1997 wrecks.

On Monday, Guy, 47, of Marietta was denied bond during his first court appearance. He has been charged with hit and run, first-degree vehicular homicide, cruelty to children and other charges.

The accident happened about 9:30 p.m. Saturday on busy, four-lane Austell Road, near Austell Circle, as A.J. Newman's family tried to reach their home at Somerpoint Apartments.

The boy, his mother and two young sisters were crossing Austell Road when he was struck by a van owned by Guy, Cobb police spokesman Joseph Hernandez said.

The family had just gotten off a bus, Hernandez said, and had reached the center median and were crossing the westbound lanes when the collision happened.

There’s no traffic signal or crosswalk at that spot. The nearest crosswalk is half a mile in either direction.

Brenda Ward, who lives in the apartments, said long-time residents have complained about the dangers of crossing the road at that spot.

“I see people walking in and out of here,” she said. “The cars fly up and down that road.”

Sally Flocks, president and founder of PEDS, a Georgia pedestrian advocacy group, said bus stops are danger zones for people on foot. She said an Atlanta Regional Commission survey found 44 percent of pedestrian accidents and 33 percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred within 300 feet of bus stops.

Guy was arrested Sunday after a woman tipped off police about his location. Police arrived at the QuikTrip on Barrett Parkway and detained Guy. A blue 1984 Chevrolet Sportvan was located at his home.

The boy's 29-year-old mother, Raquel L. Nelson, and his 2-year-old sister also were hit, but his 9-year-old sister was not. The boy was taken to WellStar Cobb Hospital, where he later died. Nelson and her 2-year-old daughter were treated at the hospital and released.