A truck driver was sentenced to two years Friday for killing two people when he plowed into a Cobb County traffic jam in 2013.
Vahid Husic, of Lawrenceville, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide along with misdemeanor charges, said Kimberly Isaza, spokeswoman at the Cobb District Attorney's Office.
Husic — who was 40 when the crash occurred, Nov. 14, 2013 — was also sentenced to eight years probation.
An investigation by Cobb police showed that Husic made two calls in the 10 minutes before he crashed the 55,000-pound tractor-trailer into vehicles stopped for construction. Husic was traveling at 65 miles per hour.
Gregory Alan Millsaps, 47 of Marietta, died at the scene when his BMW went up in flames.
Barbara Phenicie, 71 of Peachtree City, was in a van being driven by her adult son when the crash happened. She died at Kennestone Hospital.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time that five people were hospitalized.
All three lanes of traffic were slowed to 10 or 20 miles per hour on I-75 near Hickory Grove Road.
An arrest warrant said that a sign should have warned Husic that the right lane was closed ahead.
"Despite these warnings that he was approaching a heavily congested area, (Husic) continued to travel at highway speed and did not brake prior to colliding with vehicles in the traffic backup," the warrant said.
Millsaps was married and a father of one, according to his obituary. He also was the state director for the National Softball Association and the United States Specialty Sports Association.
Phenicie was a longtime teacher's aid at First Presbyterian Kindergarten and a deacon at her church, according to her obituary.
About the Author