2 Men Died in 2 Austell Vehicle Accidents Friday

Two 38-year-old men died Friday as a result of two separate vehicle crashes in Austell.

At 6:02 p.m. Friday in Austell, 38-year-old Arthur Horne of Marietta died while trying to cross Austell Road, just north of Hicks Road.

Investigators said Horne crossed outside of a crosswalk just as 22-year-old Christine Hopkins of Austell was driving her 2004 Volkswagen Jetta south on Austell Road.

Emergency personnel transported Horne to Wellstar Cobb Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Hopkins was not injured in the crash, and police do not expect her to be charged.

At 9:24 p.m., 38-year-old Russell Kennedy of Lithia Springs died while racing motorcycles with 34-year-old Jason Roddy, who was driving a Kawasaki motorcycle.

Kennedy, who was driving a 2006 Yamaha motorcycle, lost control of the vehicle while rounding a curve and struck a concrete curb. He and the motorcycle skidded off the roadway and struck several trees, according to information gathered by Cobb police investigators.

Kennedy died at the scene.

A witness to the accident said the driver of the Kawasaki motorcycle had initially stopped after the accident but then left the scene.

With help from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Cobb police investigators used the license plate number provided by the witness, to trace the Kawasaki motorcycle and its driver, Roddy, to a Lithia Springs home.

Investigators charged Roddy with first-degree vehicular homicide, racing and reckless driving. He is currently being held without bond at the Cobb County jail.

Anyone with information about either of the above incidents is asked to call Cobb police at (770) 499-3987.