A Cartersville man was arrested Saturday night after authorities said he was driving the wrong way and caused a crash that killed a Bartow County teacher.
Trevus Jamaahl Baugh, 34, faces several charges, including vehicular homicide, in the crash that killed Shauna D’Agostino, according to the Georgia State Patrol. Investigators also charged Baugh with hit-and-run, saying he tried to run away from the scene.
Baugh was driving a 2016 Hyandai Elantra on Euharlee Road about 10:15 p.m., according to a GSP incident report. The vehicle was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane, according to the report.
D’Agostino was in the passenger seat of a 2011 Toyota Sienna heading west, according to the report. Her husband was driving the vehicle, and the couple’s 8- and 6-year-old daughters were in the back seat.
The family was “on their way home from their weekly Saturday morning routine,” a relative said in a GoFundMe post.
“Every Saturday they would go out as a family, have breakfast together and run errands before coming home to tend to their farm,” the post said.
At some point, Baugh’s Elantra smashed into the front of the Sienna, the report said. The crash sent the Sienna sliding off the road and down an embankment.
The impact also sent debris flying toward a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado that was heading west on Euharlee Road at the time. The 21-year-old driver and 19-year-old passenger in the Silverado were not hurt.
Following the collision, Baugh got out and started running “after failing to render aid or provide information,” according to the report. It is not clear how he was located.
Baugh was booked into the Bartow County Jail, where he remains without bond. In addition to vehicular homicide and hit-and-run, he is charged with failure to maintain lane, driving on the wrong side of the road and reckless driving
D’Agostino was taken to Cartersville Medical Center, where she died of her injuries. Her children and husband survived the crash.
D’Agostino had recently joined Bartow County College and Career Academy as a social studies teacher, the school system said in a Facebook post. She taught night classes at Mountain Education Charter High School. Her husband, Dominic Eugene D’Agostino, is also an educator in the Bartow County School System, the post said.
“New to the Academy this year, but not new to teaching, Mrs. D’Agostino made her presence felt from day one,” the post said. “Some say it was her ultra-positive personality, while others note her engaging demeanor and impactful instruction in the classroom.”
Counselors will be available at the school to offer support services for students.
“We’ll survive,” BCCCA Principal Paul Sabin said in the post, “but the Academy won’t ever be the same.”
No memorial information was available.
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