Officer Who Struck, Killed Pedestrian In DeKalb Charged With Vehicular Homicide

TUCKER, GA -- The police officer who struck and killed a pedestrian in July has been charged with vehicular homicide, DeKalb County Police Chief James Conroy said Monday. On July 25, Officer Ian MacGowan hit Janet Pickney, 66, an avid runner who was jogging in the crosswalk when the accident occurred just before 7:30 a.m.

Conroy said that, "Based heavily on the speed of the officer," MacGowman has been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, speeding and failure to maintain lane. He's also been served a letter of termination for "failure to maintain the law," Conroy said. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

He said that MacGowan has been arrested and is currently in the DeKalb jail. The officer has been exemplary on the job, other than this accident, Conroy said.

'There's no indication that he intended this to happen," Conroy said. "He came to work to serve the citizens of DeKalb." The county has also been notified by the victim's family of pending civil litigation, he said.

A pedestrian who was in critical condition after being hit by a DeKalb County police cruiser has succumbed to her injuries, Patch has learned. Janet Pickney, 66, was an avid runner who was jogging in the crosswalk when the accident occurred just before Tuesday 7:30 a.m.

Pickney was in the midst of a morning jog when the officer careened into her while trying to avoid another vehicle near the corner of Chamblee Tucker and Brown roads.

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In early investigation of the accident indicates that the officer swerved to avoid a vehicle that suddenly turned in front of him, DeKalb authorities told local media. During the incident, the officer's vehicle hit a woman on the street and then crashed into a house.

Pedestrian Critical After Being Struck By DeKalb Officer

A neighbor of Ed and Janet Pickney erected a cross at the scene of the accident, telling news crews that it was his way of honoring her. "They both mean the world to me," Giancarlo Tsistsilianos said, "and the least I could do is pay tribute to them by putting the flowers down," he told WAGA-TV.

Image via DeKalb PD / Twitter