A 79-year-old Atlanta woman was killed Sunday afternoon after a multi-vehicle crash in Chamblee involving a stolen pickup truck, officials said.
Jonathan A. Sanchez, 20, of Tucker, is facing murder and other charges in connection with the wreck that killed Judith Schonbak, according to Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Stephanie Stallings.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Investigators said Sanchez stole a 2007 Ford F-150 from the parking lot of a Buford Highway business around 3 p.m. A young boy was inside the truck, which had been left running while the owner was inside the business.
Sanchez tried to leave in the stolen vehicle and hit two parked cars, Stallings said in a statement. At some point, he removed the child from the truck and drove off, according to the statement. The child, whose age was not released, was not hurt.
Authorities said when Sanchez left the parking lot, he drove north on Buford Highway and ran a red light at the intersection of Chamblee Tucker Road and Buford Highway.
The Ford F-150 smashed into Schonbak’s 2010 Honda Civic, which had the right-of-way, according to Stallings. The impact between the vehicles led to a series of crashes with four other cars. No other major injuries were reported.
Sanchez ran away from the scene but was found an hour later and arrested, Stallings said. In addition to murder, Sanchez is charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, failure to obey traffic control devices, speeding and felony hit-and-run.
Investigators also plan to charge him with kidnapping, cruelty to children and theft by taking, Stallings said.
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