Man Charged With Killing Pregnant Woman In Crash

BALL GROUND, GA — A Jasper man has been charged in connection to an accident that killed a pregnant daycare teacher in March. Joseph Branden Handel is charged with vehicular homicide in the second degree, feticide by vehicle in the second degree and failure to yield to vehicle entering roadway, according to jail records.

Handel was driving a Toyota pickup truck southbound on Ball Ground Highway during the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 28 when he tried to turn left on Jordan Road. The Toyota collided with a Chevrolet Tahoe, which was going northbound on Ball Ground Highway.

That collision caused the Tahoe to flip over on its roof. The driver of the Tahoe, Dylan Robertson, 20, of Ball Ground, received minor injuries while a little girl inside the SUV was not injured. Unfortunately, 21-year-old Kirsten Robertson and her 19-week-old fetus died from injuries sustained in the collision, CSO previously said in a press release.

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Handel, who was 55 years old at the time of the crash, did not suffer any injuries. Robertson was a teacher of 1-year-old students at Jasper-based Harmony Academy Learning Center, the day care said. According to Robertson's obituary, her unborn child, Chloe Angel Robertson, also died in the accident.

Cherokee Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lt. Jay Baker said Handel was arrested Tuesday at his home in Pickens County following the agency's CSO Traffic Enforcement Unit completing its investigation into the two-vehicle collision. He was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center where he remains in custody with a $4,220 bond.

Photo: Joseph Handel. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office