Man Charged In Crash That Ejected, Killed Passenger

WOODSTOCK, GA — A Woodstock man has been charged in connection to a fatal crash in which a passenger was ejected and killed in the collision, jail records show.

Jonathon Alexander Harris was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on Friday, Oct. 26 on one count of first degree vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless driving and driving without a license, those records show.

Harris, 35, was behind the wheel of a BMW 323 Ci when the car left the roadway and crashed around 5 p.m. Oct. 11 on Bells Ferry Road at Robin Road near Acworth, the Cherokee Sheriff's Office previously told Patch.

The passenger, 42-year-old Gary Bullard, also of Woodstock, was ejected from the convertible. Both men were injured and transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Bullard later died of his injuries, and Harris was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

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According to arrest warrants obtained by the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, Harris was driving under the influence "to the extent that it is less safe" for a person to operate a motor vehicle. He's also accused of driving at high rate of speed on Bells Ferry Road before the vehicle left the roadway, made its way onto a sidewalk and crashed into a tree, the warrant states.

This isn't Harris's first rodeo with the legal system. The Woodstock resident's arrest comes nearly a year after he was sentenced for entering autos parked at a business on Arnold Mill Road. According to court records, he entered a negotiated plea to four counts of entering auto in December 2017 and was sentenced to serve five years on probation.

As part of his plea, he was required to pay restitution and ordered not to consume alcoholic beverages or drugs and occupy a residence or vehicle where alcohol and illegal drugs are present. He was also ordered to participate in a Treatment Accountability Court throughout his probation period.

He remains held at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center without bond.

Photo: Jonathon Alexander Harris. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office