A Cobb County attorney was charged with feticide by vehicle after allegedly striking a pregnant pedestrian in Marietta, police said.
Barry Leslie Staples allegedly struck the woman with the driver’s side of his 2005 Ford F-150, hitting her in the left leg and hip, Marietta police said. The woman survived, but doctors at WellStar Kennestone Hospital determined her 8-week-old fetus no longer had a heartbeat, an arrest warrant states.
Staples, a Marietta resident, was negotiating a left turn on Waddell Street around 9 a.m. Aug. 11 when he left his lane and struck the woman, who was in the crosswalk and had a green light to cross, according to police and a witness.
“Said accused reported to the initial responding officer that he had misjudged the turn and was distracted by the morning sunlight,” Staples’ arrest warrant states.
The warrant was secured for Staples on Friday, and he surrendered that evening, Cobb jail records showed. Staples was charged with feticide by vehicle in the second degree, failure to maintain lane, and failure to yield to a pedestrian in crosswalk, all misdemeanor charges.
Bond was set at $5,000 for Staples, who was released from jail about 30 minutes later on his own recognizance, booking records showed.
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