The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office has charged an 18-year-old with vehicular homicide and other felony charges stemming from a single-vehicle crash in January that killed two other teens and injured three others, including the suspect.
The victims included a senior at Pope High School, while a student at Lassiter High School was seriously injured.
Booking reports show that Oliver Luis Roman, 18, of Powder Springs, was being held without bond after being charged Wednesday morning. He is charged with two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide, two counts of serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving.
Roman allegedly was driving a Mazda 6 sedan that slammed into a tree in a median along Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock on Jan. 9. Gabriel Escandon, 17, a member of Pope’s varsity boys soccer team, was pronounced dead on the scene, while Esteban Cortez-Rendon of Woodstock, who turned 18 that day, died at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, Cherokee authorities previously said.
Chris Peixoto, a soccer player at Lassiter High School, was hospitalized with serious injuries, as were the other two occupants of the car, including Roman.
Friends and family responded to an online fundraiser that netted more than $81,000 for his recovery. A message on Jan. 28—Peixoto’s 18th birthday—said asked for continuing donations of $18 and said that “Chris is continuing to improve day by day, but he still is going to need lots of support and prayers from the entire community.”
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