Driver charged in crash that killed 16-year-old student

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A driver has been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide in a crash that killed a Peachtree Ridge High School student earlier this month.

Sean David Taylor, 47, of Sugar Hill, was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, records show.

Suwanee police believe Taylor may have suffered a medical emergency when his pickup truck slammed into Peachtree Ridge High School junior Samarah Masih as she was leaving an apartment complex on Nov. 10.

[READ MORE: Students mourning after beloved classmate killed in Gwinnett County crash]

"Further investigation by Suwanee Police detectives determined that due to Taylor's previous medical history and other recent events he should not have been driving," authorities said Wednesday in a statement.

Masih, 16, was behind the wheel of a Nissan Pathfinder waiting to exit the Residences on McGinnis Ferry complex, Suwanee police previously said.

The Nissan was stopped when it was hit just after 1 p.m. Sunday by Taylor's 2008 Dodge Dakota. The teen was dead at the scene, police spokesman Lt. Robert Thompson said.

The truck hit several other vehicles before it swerved onto a private drive and into the complex on McGinnis Ferry Road, he said. Four patients were assessed at the scene, according to an official with Gwinnett County fire, which also responded to the wreck. The conditions of the others involved are unknown.

Taylor, 47, of Sugar Hill, was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening and later released.

In addition to felony vehicular homicide, he is facing misdemeanor charges of failure to maintain lane, following too closely and reckless driving. He remains in the county jail.

This article was written by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Cox Media Group