Jury finds driver guilty in deadly crash that killed Kennesaw high school student
Driver convicted of vehicular homicide in teen's death
After hours of deliberations, a Cobb County jury has reached in the trial of a driver who struck and killed a Harrison High School student. The jury found Jerry Cox guilty of second-degree vehicular homicide. But they found the 68-year-old man not guilty of the more serious charges of first-degree vehicular homicide and DUI.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A Cobb County jury has found a man guilty of vehicular homicide in the death of 17-year-old Harrison High School honor student Olivia Pugh.
Jerome "Jerry" Cox was in court on Friday afternoon when the jury returned with their verdict, finding him guilty of second-degree homicide by vehicle and failure to exercise care toward a pedestrian.
Cox was found not guilty on all other charges, including driving under the influence and first-degree vehicle homicide.
Prosecutors say Cox, who was 68 years old at the time of the incident, was driving home from a Christmas party in 2023 when he plowed his SUV through a crosswalk along Ben King Road, hitting the Harrison High School student. Pugh was walking to her car after seeing Christmas lights with friends in Kennesaw.
"We saw a car on the other side had stopped for us, and so Olivia and I started to cross," Pugh's friend Sadie White testified in court. "I was standing on the yellow lines, and kind of just out of nowhere, this car came through and hit her."
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Police alleged Cox was under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle hit Pugh, who died two days later at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
Over the last two weeks, the jury has heard jail recordings between Cox and his wife about how much they drank that night, there was body and dash camera video, and requests from both sides for mistrials.
The jury deliberated for hours on Thursday, telling the judge that they were at an impasse with several jurors saying they would not change their minds on certain charges.
The sentencing will happen later Friday afternoon following a recess and victim impact statements.
The Source: This story is based upon courtroom testimony and court records provided by the Cobb County Superior Court. FOX 5's Kevyn Stewart and Denise Dillon have been following this court case. This article contains details from previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports with links to those individual stories in the article.