A Dunwoody man was sentenced to prison this week in the killing of a 12-year-old girl after he crashed his vehicle into a car parked on the shoulder of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard two years ago.
Eric Rodriguez, 43, will spend 18 years in confinement for vehicular homicide, tampering with evidence, driving without a license and no proof of insurance in the 2020 crash that killed Amiah Kenney and her emotional support dog Noah, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said.
The incident took place Nov. 11 when Kenney’s mother got a call from her niece who had a flat tire, leaving her stranded on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville, DeKalb DA Sherry Boston said. Kenney, her mother, her stepmother and Noah all piled into their Toyota Camry to go pick up their family member.
When they arrived, the rain was beating down and the stranded woman was still gathering some of her things, so Kenney and the others waited in the car with the hazard lights on and their seatbelts fastened, Kenney’s stepmother, D’Arrah Jackson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution not long after the incident.
As the family waited in the Camry, they were rear-ended by a Range Rover driven by Rodriguez, Boston said. Kenney was seriously injured in the wreck, but Rodriguez stepped out of the vehicle, assessed the damage and then tried to drive away. When the SUV would not drive, he ripped the temporary tag off the back and ran off, Boston said.
Witnesses were able to get a good look at Rodriguez and note the unique tattoos on his face and chest, which led to his identification from security footage of a bar fight that happened a few days after the wreck, Boston said. Investigators also linked the registration of the Range Rover to Rodriguez.
Credit: GoFundMe
Credit: GoFundMe
After the crash, Kenney was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, where she died.
“That was our only child,” Jackson told the AJC at the time. “And I swear I feel like my dreams turned into a nightmare.”
Rodriguez was sentenced to 15 years for the vehicular homicide charge and one year, to be served consecutive to the 15 years, for the other three charges, the DA’s Office said.
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