Alexander Seidnitzer

Top East Cobb stories for 2018: Johnson Ferry Road accidents claim two teenagers; 2014 murder conviction

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Johnson Ferry Road accidents
An 18-year-old motorcyclist died in March after crashing into a landscaping truck on Johnson Ferry Road. (ECN file).

Two 18-year-olds from East Cobb were tragically killed in Johnson Ferry Road accidents in 2018.

Alexander Seidnitzer, who worked at Zeal Kitchen & Bar and was planning to attend culinary school, was heading southbound on Johnson Ferry near Bishop Lake Road on the morning of March 26 when he slammed into a landscaping truck that was pulling out of a subdivision.

After being rushed to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, Seidnitzer was pronounced dead. No charges were filed in the accident.

Friends, family and work colleagues held a celebration of life event in his memory at Zeal.

On the July 4 weekend, a recent graduate of Pope High School was traveling in a vehicle further up on Johnson Ferry when she rolled down a window and began yelling and screaming before falling out and hitting the road.

Alyssa Prindle, who was planning to attend Georgia Southern University, never left intensive care at Kennestone and died of her injuries on July 25.

The driver of the SUV, 17-year-old Abigail Cook, also of East Cobb, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, DUI and other charges. In November, she was indicted by a Cobb grand jury.

Other major public safety stories for 2018 in East Cobb include the August conviction of a man for the murder of Jerry Moore, who was found stabbed to death in his home off Holly Springs Road in January 2014.

Johnathan Allen Wheeler worked at a Woodstock bakery that Moore financed and that was run by Ross Byrne, who was Moore’s roommate. Byrne was charged with homicide two weeks after Wheeler was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Former Pope volunteer wrestling coach Ron Gorman received long sentences for sexually abusing young athletes, both in East Cobb and in Pennsylvania, where he coached previously.

A former Kell High School teacher of the year is facing charges of sexually assaulting a student from 2016 and 2018.

Robert New, a former officer at Cobb Police Precinct 4 in East Cobb, was arrested for aggravated assault of a woman, solicitation of a minor girl, possession of computer pornography and other charges. He resigned shortly after that in June.

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UPDATE: Motorcyclist dies after Johnson Ferry Road accident

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East Cobb traffic alert, Johnson Ferry Road accident
East Cobb News reader photo from the accident scene on Johnson Ferry Road at Lake Rill Court.

UPDATED, Tuesday, March 27, 11 A.M.: Cobb Police said this morning the motorcyclist in Monday’s Johnson Ferry Road accident has died. He has been identified as Alexander Seidnitzer, age 18, of East Cobb.

Police said Seidnitzer was traveling southbound on Johnson Ferry Road on a gray 2015 Yamaha FZ07 motorcycle when it collided with a lawn service truck at the intersection of Lake Rill Court.

The truck, driven by Joshua Peavy, 27, of Smyrna, was attempting to turn left from Lake Rill Court onto Johnson Ferry Road northbound when the accident occurred, police said.

Seidnitzer died after being transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, according to police, who said Peavy was not injured.

Police said they do not anticipate filing charges in the accident, which is still under investigation.

Family members said Seidnitzer was aiming to be a chef and attend culinary school (see comments below).

UPDATED, 1:50 P.M. Monday

Officer Wayne Delk of the Cobb County Police Department said a motorcyclist collided with a landscaping truck at the intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Lake Rill Court late Monday morning.

The motorcyclist, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance from the accident scene with life-threatening injuries, Delk said. The accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m.

All northbound lanes of Johnson Ferry Road were closed between Roswell Road and Bishop Lake Road while the accident was being investigated, according to police, and only one southbound lane of Johnson Ferry was open during that time. All traffic lanes reopened around 1:40 p.m., Cobb Police said.

Delk said initial information from the accident scene indicates that the motorcyclist may be at fault.

We have received photos from a reader, including above, who was caught in the traffic jam, and who also told us this:

” . . . really sad, it was a young person on the blue motorcycle and the man driving the Arbornomics truck was so distraught and crying by the side of the road.”

We’ve also received dashcam footage from Mohamad Zakaria, who was traveling southbound on Johnson Ferry when the motorcyclist zoomed past him. Zakaria, who was heading to classes at Georgia Perimeter College, was traveling around 45 mph, the posted local speed limit.

ORIGINAL POST, 11:49 A.M. Monday

Cobb DOT is asking motorists to consider an alternative to using Johnson Ferry Road at Lake Rill Court, just north of Roswell Road, due to an accident that’s causing heavy delays.

The accident is affecting traffic in both north and southbound lanes, but that’s all the information that’s available for now.

UPDATED, 1:14 P.M.: Johnson Ferry Road traffic at that intersection is shut down until at least 2 p.m.

Lake Rill Court is the entrance to a neighborhood on the same side of Johnson Ferry as the Sunrise at East Cobb senior living facility, and just a little north of it.

We’ll update this story when we get more information.

 

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