Grandfather killed, 2 injured after high-speed crash in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police are investigating a wreck that killed a grandfather and injured two other people Friday night.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was at Johnson Ferry Road and Powers Road, where the wreck happened just before midnight. Police said two Mercedes sedans collided.

Police said a white Mercedes sedan was speeding down Johnson Ferry Road when it slammed into a Mercedes convertible.

Rob Higginbotham, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The people in the speeding car were rushed to the hospital. Police haven’t released their identities or their conditions.

Seiden talked to Mary Claire Smith, Higginbotham’s daughter, on the phone. Smith said it was around 11:20 p.m. when her father made a left turn and was hit by the speeding car. The impact was so violent it sent his car flying across the road.

Smith said Higginbotham was just “100 yards from home” when he was killed. She said his family and friends are devastated.

“He loved so hard. He was so outgoing,” Smith said. “He couldn’t wait to take my son to Braves games, and he couldn’t wait to take him bass fishing.”

Seiden also talked to neighbors who said the crash was so loud that dozens of people rushed out of their homes to try to help the victims. Witnesses said at least one of the cars caught fire.

Will Hakes said he and his wife and another neighbor ran to the crash site, where they found the other driver and his passenger trapped inside the car but still alive.

“We didn’t hear any brakes. You just heard a boom," Hakes said. “I pulled him out. His leg was clearly broken. I put him over my shoulder.”

Hakes said they tried to save Higginbotham but it was too late.

“We walked over to the gentleman who was possibly deceased, and my wife was just saying prayers, and we were just waiting," Hakes said.

Family and friends are now coming together to remember Higginbotham.

“He’s like family,” Mary Anne Fisher said. “It’s a group of us that works for him, and he treats you like family.”

Neighbors said they are heartbroken about the collision but not surprised. They said that stretch of road is notorious for drivers who speed and run red lights and they’ve seen many crashes in the past.

“We’ve lived here for 15 years, and just getting out of my subdivision and the speeding that goes on on Johnson Ferry Road, it’s always been alarming," Jana Weber said. “But when something like this happens in front of your house, it’s just terrifying.”

Neighbors hope the county will do something to make the road safer.

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