An Atlanta police officer accused in a deadly street racing crash is expected to have treatment that could affect his memory of the incident, a defense lawyer told Channel 2 Action News on Monday.
Officer Shawn Jones Jr. turned himself in to authorities last week on vehicular homicide, speeding, racing and reckless driving charges in the Sept. 14 crash that killed Ramish Attai, 20, of Lilburn. Attai was a passenger in Jones’ car.
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“Unfortunately, (Jones) suffered a terrible, terrible injury,” said defense attorney Mark Issa, who is representing Jade Dibaje, who is also charged in the case.
“He's living with a traumatic brain injury now.”
Issa did not say when Jones will have the treatment.
It’s likely the case could go to trial within a month, Fulton County District Attorney spokesman Dontaye Carter said.
“The time that’s passed has created a lot of skepticism for folks who are watching this case,” Issa said, “but for us, we want to see what (the district attorney’s office) pulls together, what the evidence is going to be.”
Jones, the son of retired Atlanta Assistant Police Chief Shawn Jones Sr., was off duty while driving on Peachtree Street when he failed to maintain his lane, left the road and hit a curb, according to an incident report.
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Jones’ car drove along the curb at a high rate of speed and traveled through the Peachtree and Spring streets intersection before hitting a building.
Dibaje was also arrested, but Issa said she was only a witness to the crash.
“She can’t spend a moment talking about (the crash) without crying,” Issa said. “The time that’s passed has been terrible for her. She lives with this every day.”
Dibaje was able to bond out of jail quickly due to her high-risk pregnancy. Issa said his client has been on bed rest.
Issa expects the evidence to show that no one was racing.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “we're sure it's going to show that she wasn't racing nor was (Jones).”
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