Funeral arrangements have been made for a 12-year-old girl who was struck and killed earlier this month in a Doraville hit-and-run.
Amiah Shontae’ Kenney Jackson, a seventh grader at Pinckneyville Middle School, was killed Nov. 11 after she and her family stopped along Winters Chapel Road to help a relative change a flat tire.
The suspect in the case, 42-year-old Eric Cirildo Rodriguez, was arrested last week on a vehicular homicide charge. The Norcross man is also charged with hit-and-run resulting in serious injury or death and acquiring a license plate for the purpose of concealing identification of a motor vehicle, according to DeKalb County jail records.
Rodriguez was driving a Range Rover in the left lane of the Ga. 141 access road near Tilly Mill Road in Doraville around 10 p.m., the Georgia State Patrol said.
D’Arrah Jackson, who was in a Toyota Camry with her wife and their daughter Amiah, parked their vehicle on the same road and activated the hazard lights as they waited for their niece, who had a flat tire on the side of the road, the GSP said.
According to an incident report, Rodriguez’s vehicle slammed into the back of Jackson’s car, sending both across a grassy median and into the southbound lanes of Ga. 141.
After the violent crash, authorities said Amiah was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, where she later died. Her emotional support dog, Noah, also was killed, Jackson told AJC.com.
After the crash, authorities said Rodriguez removed his license plate and ran away.
Jackson said they had to postpone Amiah’s funeral for a couple of weeks due to financial issues, but a GoFundMe page for the family has helped raise more than $5,000. The 12-year-old’s funeral service will be held Saturday afternoon at the Victory Worship Center in Stone Mountain. The viewing is scheduled from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and the funeral will be held after that, her mother said.
“She was a beautiful soul,” Jackson said of Amiah. “She wanted everybody to love her.”
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