A Cobb County man has been arrested and is dealing with multiple felony charges after police say he left the scene of a six-car crash that left one person dead.
Rony Perez-Lucas, 23, of Marietta, was arrested on Sunday and is charged with vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run, and failure to maintain lane, according to Cobb police spokeswoman Officer Shenise Barner.
Perez-Lucas is alleged of crashing his pickup on I-285 and fleeing from the scene with his truck still in the road, Barner said. In the ensuing wreck, one man died and three other people were admitted to the hospital with injuries.
According to the preliminary investigation, Perez-Lucas was driving his maroon 2002 Toyota Tundra on I-285 east just past Powers Ferry Road at about 2:25 a.m. when he struck the concrete center median. The Tundra came to a stop back on the highway and was then hit by two cars, Barner said. The first, a 2018 Hyundai Sonata, was sent into the center barrier where it came to a stop. The second, a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, struck the Tundra and both trucks came to rest in travel lanes, Barner said.
Three more cars ran into the disabled vehicles, but the sequence was unclear, according to Cobb police. A 2012 Audi A5, 2020 Chrysler Pacifica and 2010 Nissan Maxima were involved in the vehicle crash but came to controlled stops on either side of the highway, Barner said.
The driver of the Silverado, 32-year-old Desmond Graham of Columbus, was declared dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the Sonata was admitted to Wellstar Atlanta Medical Hospital, and his female passenger was admitted to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, both with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the A5 was also admitted to Kennestone with non-life-threatening injuries, Barner said.
The drivers of Pacifica and Maxima were not injured.
Perez-Lucas was taken into custody later in the day and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where he remains without bond, online jail records reveal.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact officials at 770-499-3987.
