logo
Marietta police investigating after teen run over by reckless driver in parking lot

Marietta police investigating after teen run over by reckless driver in parking lot

Yahoo26-04-2025
The Marietta Police Department says they're investigating an incident where a teenager was run over by a reckless driver on Friday night.
Police said their Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Unit is looking into the situation, where 19-year-old Jeremias Escalante Perez, of Virginia, was in a parking lot at Westside Plaza at the corner of Powder Springs Road and Sandtown Road when he was run over.
According to the initial investigation, Perez was in the parking lot 'when an unknown male driving a silver Infinity G35 began driving recklessly and doing burnouts.'
The Infinity hit Perez and dragged him along while the drive tried to leave the area.
Police said Perez sustained life-threatening injuries and was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
The driver left the scene without trying to help Perez, police said.
Anyone with information that could help police identify and find the driver is asked to call Officer J. Henderson at 770-794-5384 or call Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta to leave a tip.
Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell is in Marietta working to learn more.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
MARTA police investigating shooting at Ashby Station
Mom turns in child accused of stealing instruments from McIntosh High School
Family of murdered Fulton Co. teacher shines a light on loved one's life
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Public school teacher reveals years-long effort to expose alleged student abortion scandal
Public school teacher reveals years-long effort to expose alleged student abortion scandal

Fox News

time2 days ago

  • Fox News

Public school teacher reveals years-long effort to expose alleged student abortion scandal

On a recent morning, Centreville High School teacher Zenaida Perez had a surprise visitor at the northern Virginia school where she teaches English as a second language: a high-powered lawyer investigating allegations that Perez had made public that a school social worker coaxed and funded a student's 2021 abortion. The Clifton school district's superintendent, Michelle Reid, responded to the allegations the next day, claiming the school system had just "learned yesterday" about the potential scandal. Last Thursday, Reid emailed Centreville High School parents, again claiming that the district had taken "immediate action to engage an external independent investigator to get all the facts." Perez's visitor was Mary McGowan, a retired lawyer from Blankingship & Keith, a longtime go-to firm for Fairfax County Public Schools. In a nearly three-hour interview, Perez told McGowan how she had blown the whistle seven times about the abortion scandal since May 2022, only to be ignored and then retaliated against. School district officials were "covering up" the alleged abortion scandal, Perez said she told McGowan. in the interview. "Your recollection is outstanding," McGowan acknowledged at one point, according to Perez. Indeed, a detailed review of hundreds of pages of documents, emails and records confirm Perez's timeline. Perez told McGowan that she issued her first warning on May 5, 2022, in a meeting with then-principal, Chad Lehman, and an assistant principal. She said that a school social worker had allegedly facilitated and financed a 17-year-old student's abortion the year before, without her guardian's knowledge. Perez said she raised her concerns a second time in a letter sent on May 13, 2022, and she met again with Lehman in November 2022 to revisit the issue a third time, confirmed by an audio recording of the meeting. FCPS policy states that "every effort shall be made to encourage and support students suspecting pregnancy to discuss their concerns with their parents or guardians." However, it does not say FCPS employees should inform parents about those conversations. "As this is an ongoing personnel matter, we are not able to comment at this time," a spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools said when asked about Perez's account. Born in Cuba, Perez migrated to the U.S. in 1990 after earning a master's degree in teaching English as a second language, often called "ESOL." After teaching at Sarasota Public Schools in Florida, she moved to Virginia, ultimately landing a coveted job as a teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools. The high school is "majority-minority." Almost 20% of students are learning to speak English, according to school demographic data. About one in four students live in low-income homes and qualify for free or reduced-fee meals. In the spring of 2022, Perez told the school board investigator she was blindsided when Lehman asked her if she'd given a pregnancy test to a student. She hadn't, but she did learn that a teen student from Guatemala told her that the school social worker had made an appointment for the student to get an abortion at a Falls Church, Va., clinic in November 2021, and paid the expenses. In a statement written later that fall, the student detailed what allegedly happened when she saw the social worker. "She helped me with a pregnancy termination, or abortion," she wrote, according to a translation from its original Spanish. "[She] made the appointment for me at the abortion clinic in Fairfax. She paid for the procedure and kept quiet about it, not letting my family know. I was worried that my family would react very badly if they knew about my pregnancy and the abortion." "When the abortion was performed, I was only 17 years old," she concluded. The student and her guardian couldn't be reached for comment. Perez told Fox News Digital the student's guardian, an uncle, didn't know about the abortion and was "livid." A week after the May 2022 meeting with Lehman, Perez says she sent the then-principal a follow-up email, dated May 13, 2022, reiterating that the school social worker had allegedly helped the student "solve the pregnancy issue." Perez had another meeting with Lehman in November, a recording of which she shared with Fox News Digital. Perez asked what he had meant when he had previously told her the abortion allegations were "concerning." Lehman responded: "I don't remember the statement or the context of it, so I couldn't answer that question with you right now. I don't remember there being a conversation about that specifically." She reminded the principal she had repeated her concerns in a letter. When she raised her concerns again about Diaz facilitating an abortion, Lehman responded that he didn't believe the social worker in question would have arranged an abortion for a student. Julie Perry, a teacher at Centreville High School, recalled how she met Perez for the first time that fall, as Perry stood outside Room 222A on the school's second floor. It was about 7:45 a.m., as students scurried into classrooms for their first period. Perry had just run on the Republican ticket for state House of Delegates, losing in a district that is majority Democratic. "I feel strong. I have truth and God on my side." - Zenaida Perez "God bless Zenaida for fighting through this," said Perry. "What's so sad are the higher-ups. They're not concerned about the truth. They're concerned about keeping silent about these abortions." On March 7, Perez told McGowan that she raised her concerns again – now, for a sixth time – in a Zoom call with Heidi Siegmund, an attorney at McGuireWoods, a law firm based in Richmond, Va., investigating a separate issue of alleged workplace harassment at the school. On March 19, Siegmund wrote to Perez and said: "We will also make sure the Division Counsel's office is aware of your concerns," according to a copy of the email. The division counsel's office has for years hired lawyers from Blankingship & Keith as outside counsel. In May, Perez says she learned more shocking news: A teen told her that the social worker had offered to help her get an abortion when she was five months pregnant. The teen didn't have an abortion and is now a young mother, Perez said. The young mother wrote a statement about her experience, according to a copy of the letter, written in Spanish, saying a school health provider "gave me the option to have an abortion." Perez said the student told her the same social worker had given her the advice. Last week, as news of her allegations spread, Perez watched in disbelief as the school superintendent, Reid, claimed that school district officials had just learned about the concerns Perez had raised three years earlier and many times over. Early Monday morning, Perez returned to Centreville High School from summer break, armed with new resolve now that her warnings have been heard beyond Fairfax County Public Schools. "I feel strong. I have truth and God on my side," she said.

Illegal immigrant driver was three times legal limit when he allegedly killed NJ mom, young daughter in fatal crash
Illegal immigrant driver was three times legal limit when he allegedly killed NJ mom, young daughter in fatal crash

New York Post

time5 days ago

  • New York Post

Illegal immigrant driver was three times legal limit when he allegedly killed NJ mom, young daughter in fatal crash

The illegal immigrant who drove an SUV head-on into a sedan carrying a young mother and her 11-year-old daughter, killing both, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, New Jersey officials revealed this week. Raul Luna-Perez had also been spotted speeding in the moments just before the fatal July 26 crash, and eyewitnesses told cops they watched his SUV pass four other vehicles before making the fifth, and fatal, attempt. 4 Dayanara Cortes and Maria Pleitez were U.S. citizens, but will be buried in El Salvador. Advertisement Luna-Perez, 43, was driving more than 60 miles an hour down a residential street in Lakewood when his Dodge Durango rammed into 42-year-old Maria Pleitez's Nissan Sentra, killing her in an instant, investigators said this week. 4 Cops say moments before the crash, Raul Luna-Perez was driving 60 miles per hour on a residential road in Lakewood. Y Smith/TLS Maria's daughter, Dayanara Cortes, 11, died moments after arriving at a nearby hospital. Advertisement The mother and daughter were on their way to Wawa for milkshakes when they were struck, Pleitez's niece, Maria del Carmen Pleitez, 39, told The Post. Dayanara's friend, also an 11-year-old girl, was in the car with them but survived. She has not been identified by police. A woman who was with Luna-Perez at the time of the crash was also injured, but was expected to recover. 4 Luna-Perez is Mexican, but authorities can't pinpoint when, how, or where he entered the U.S. Homeland Security Advertisement Luna-Perez has been illegally living in Red Bank, N.J., since early 2023, federal sources told The Post. It's unclear when and where he crossed into the US. The suspect was free to drive despite two DUI arrests in March and April and a domestic violence arrest in 2023, according to records. Luna-Perez's charges were upgraded to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide Thursday after police received the results of his bloodwork, prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer confirmed. Last week, Luna-Perez was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of assault by auto. Advertisement 4 A wake for Cortes and Pleitez drew more than 150 mourners. Leonardo Munoz Luna-Perez is back in a county jail after spending the last week in an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, said Billhimer, who plans to keep the accused behind bars until trial. 'Thanks to the cooperation of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Luna-Perez has been returned to Ocean County to face these upgraded charges,' Billhimer said in a statement. 'His return sends a clear message that our federal partners share in our mission to hold those individuals that commit serious crimes accountable — regardless of their immigration status.'

Ex-Miami Heat security guard charged in massive theft of memorabilia
Ex-Miami Heat security guard charged in massive theft of memorabilia

USA Today

time7 days ago

  • USA Today

Ex-Miami Heat security guard charged in massive theft of memorabilia

A former Miami Heat security guard was charged this week with transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce, accused of stealing jerseys and other memorabilia and selling the items to online brokers. Federal authorities in Florida said that 62-year-old Marcos Thomas Perez, a retired police officer who spent 25 years with the Miami Police Department, who also worked for NBA security, stole items from the Kaseya Center, the Heat's home arena, by accessing a secured equipment room to take over 400 game-worn jerseys and other items, including a game-worn LeBron James Miami Heat NBA Finals jersey from 2013 that netted him approximately $100,000. Perez worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021. The equipment room had game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia that the Heat intended to display in a future team museum. That Game 7 jersey sold at a Sotheby's auction in January 2023 for $3.7 million. Over a three-year period, Perez allegedly sold over 100 items, sometimes shipping them across state lines, for about $2 million. Authorities said those items sold were well below the market value. Authorities executed a search warrant in April on Perez's residence, where they found nearly 300 additional stolen game-worn jerseys and memorabilia. The Heat said those items were indeed stolen from their facility. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store