An Athens woman was waiting for a bus when she was struck and killed by a car Sunday. Later that night, a man with whom she was in a relationship was accused of hitting her and was charged with murder, officials said.
Jeffery Scott Tate, 58, was arrested in the death of 45-year-old Shelby Cox. Athens-Clarke County police said Tate struck Cox with his car and fled from the scene.
Police received a call about a person hit by a vehicle in the 2000 block of Atlanta Highway at around 6:15 p.m. Cox was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Tate was later identified as the driver and police determined he was in a relationship with Cox.
The investigation determined that Tate acted intentionally, according to authorities, but officials did not share any details of what led to his arrest. A driver can be charged with murder instead of vehicular homicide if there is evidence that the crash was intentional.
In addition to murder, Tate was charged with hit-and-run resulting in serious injury or death, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane.
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