Juan Marquez (Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office)
A man has been charged with vehicular homicide after pulling in front of a moving tractor-trailer on I-85 South in Coweta County Tuesday afternoon — a decision that ultimately led to the death of a mother of five, the Georgia State Patrol said.
According to reports, a rock cracked Juan Marquez’s windshield, and he thought the rock came from the truck.
Marquez, 43, of Atlanta, stopped his vehicle in the interstate “to consult with the driver of a semi-truck,” GSP spokeswoman Tracey Watson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
That, Watson said, caused the tractor-trailer to stop on the interstate and the SUV behind it to slam into the truck. The driver of the SUV, Jessica Jose, 32, of Grantville, died on the scene.
Marquez and the truck driver were not injured.
Marquez is being held in the Coweta County jail without bond. He is charged with first-degree homicide by vehicle, aggressive driving, reckless driving, improper slowing or stopping on a roadway, and violating a law that says a pedestrian must walk on a sidewalk or shoulder of a roadway, Watson said.
Before the deadly crash, Jose had set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for one of her children, a 2-year-old boy who broke a bone in his leg and required full-time care and assistance.
“I can't leave his side so I have been out of work since this accident,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page. “I am seeking help for everyday living expense, copayments and physical therapy (until) I'm able to return (to) work.”
Since her death, another GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for Jose’s children.