By Joe Johnson
A pedestrian was killed and another was injured when they were struck by an SUV while crossing the street in front of the Classic Center in downtown Athens.
The driver was arrested for vehicular homicide.
The incident occurred Friday at about 10:30 p.m., when 31-year-old Heather Turner was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe on North Thomas Street and struck the victims who were in a pedestrian crosswalk at East Washington Street at the driveway of the Classic Center.
A preliminary investigation by police found that the pedestrians had checked for traffic in both directions and had activated a flashing caution light to warn motorists that they were about to cross.
One pedestrian, Guy Jones, 78 of Woodstock died his injuries upon being transported to the hospital. The other, 18-year-old Sean Helms, also of Woodstock, was transported to the local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Turner, a resident of Hoschton, was arrested on two counts of failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and one count of second-degree homicide by vehicle.
She was taken to the hospital for a voluntary blood draw.
The incident on Monday continued to be investigated and police asked for anyone with information about it to contact Senior Police Officer Joey Lewis at Joey.Lewis@accgov.com or 762-400-7169.