A former deputy is free on $6,800 bond following his arrest for a crash that killed a Paulding County teacher.
Joshua Anthony Powell was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and weaving in the May 2018 crash, according to police. He was booked last week into the Paulding jail and later released on bond.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Powell was traveling southbound on Dallas Acworth Highway in a Ford Mustang when he crossed the center line and struck a Mustang head-on at approximately 7 a.m. on May 15, 2018. Emily Howell, who was driving northbound in the Mustang, died at the scene. She was 32.
Credit: Viewer, special to WSB-TV
Credit: Viewer, special to WSB-TV
At the time of the crash, Howell was about 3 miles from Russom Elementary School, where she taught fourth grade. Howell began teaching at the school in 2015, the school district said. She is survived by her husband, parents and siblings.
“Emily lived a short but full life,” her obituary stated. “Her students were her first priority; however, in her free time, she enjoyed cooking, entertaining, watching her Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Falcons, traveling to Ormond Beach, taking cruises, spending time with family, friends and her boxer, Bailey.”
In February 2019, a Paulding grand jury indicted Powell. But he was not arrested until a year later on March 3, jail records show.
Powell had been employed as a Cherokee County deputy for two weeks at the time of the crash. He had just finished a 12-hour shift and was off duty when the crash occurred. Powell later resigned from his job in lieu of termination, the Sheriff’s Office said.
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