By Joe Johnson
An Athens woman last week was indicted for vehicular homicide in connection with a fatal crash that occurred nearly three years ago.
Jamie Bee Whitlock, 44, of Smokey Road was charged with first-degree homicide, hit and run resulting in serious injury or death, driving on a suspended license, and failure to yield, according to the indictment filed Oct. 18 in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police accident report, the crash occurred on March 7, 2020, when a 2001 Nissan Maxima driven by Whitlock was southbound on U.S. Highway 29 North when it made a U-turn, failing to yield to a northbound 2006 Kia Sorento being driven by a 61-year-old Athens man, which struck the Nissan in the passenger side.
A passenger in the Nissan, Willie James Butts, 49, of Burkland Drive, was transported to the hospital where he later died, according to the report.
Neither Whitlock nor the Kia driver were injured.
Another of Whitlock’s passengers, 33-year-old Catalpa Court woman, was hospitalized with a broken arm and collapsed lung, police said.
Police said Whitlock remained on the scene, but gave a fake name and told officers someone else was driving and had fled.
Whitlock remains free on an unsecured judicial release, and her arraignment date had yet to be scheduled.
Well, it doesn’t look good for her lying to police, she must have thought she was special.