Q: Do you have an update on what’s happening with the two individuals who were racing on Moreland Avenue and killed those three children? I pass that way each day and see the memorial and the police markings on the street. It is heartbreaking.
—Chris Rice, Rex
A: DeKalb County police arrested Melanie Putnam, 27, and James Benford, 42, hours after the accident that killed Jaylen Coleman, 6, brother Jordan, 4, and sister Lauren, 3, in April.
Both were released on bond later that month, according to online jail records.
Putnam and Benford were charged with three counts of felony vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving after they hit the car driven by the children’s mother while drag racing on Moreland Avenue.
Sketches show that the cars driven by Putnam and Benford were going 100 mph, the AJC reported.
Q: News footage showed a B-1 bomber flying away after making a bombing sortie in northern Syria. A retired Air Force friend of mine told me that all B-1 bombers are based in the U.S. Why didn’t the U.S. use other aircraft that are based closer to where the bombing sorties occurred?
—William McKee Jr., Flowery Branch
A: The 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, which flies B1-B Lancer bombers, has been stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar this year.
That group replaced the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, which was deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in 2014.
The B-1B Lancer bombers have flown missions over Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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