A 20-year-old Gainesville man faces misdemeanor charges in a head-on crash that killed his passenger and injured both drivers on Lula Road on Oct. 15, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, as reported by Now Georgia. WGTJ Radio in Gainesville also listed the charge update on Oct. 22.
Source: Now Georgia
Following his release from the hospital, Jesse Jacob Martinez was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, failure to maintain lane and a tire-requirements violation for allegedly driving with slick tires, the sheriff's office said. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
Martinez was booked into the Hall County Jail on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 21. He posted a $16,960 bond and was released later that evening, according to the report.
Martinez was travelling east when his Dodge Ram 1500 went off the shoulder, slid down an embankment, then overcorrected into the westbound lane and struck a 2023 Dodge Ram 2500 head-on, the sheriff's office said.
The crash killed Fernando Jose Gutierrez, 20, of Dahlonega, a passenger in Martinez's truck. Gutierrez was partially ejected during the collision and died after being transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, the report said.
Deputies and investigators with the sheriff's Accident Investigation Unit responded around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, about a mile east of Julian Wiley Road. They found one pickup blocking Lula Road and another overturned on the north side of the roadway. The second truck, driven by Jack Jason Dooley, 52, of Dahlonega, rotated into a ditch and came to rest on its roof. All three men were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center; Dooley's condition was not available in the report.