A Hephzibah woman spent Christmas in jail after hitting a pedestrian and reportedly dragging him in her new Kia Optima for seven miles on Wednesday night, authorities said.
Jasmine Stephenson, 33, was charged Friday with homicide by vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident in the death of 50-year-old William Bell. Both charges are felonies.
The victim was walking near 3663 Deans Bridge Road around 11:23 p.m. Wednesday when he was struck by a male driver, who stopped after the accident.
“Bell was then struck by a second vehicle which left the scene dragging Bell’s body,” Coroner Mark Bowen said.
It took over two hours, but the victim’s body was found seven miles away in a parking lot on Milledgeville Road at Deans Bridge Road. He was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m. Thursday, the coroner said.
By Thursday afternoon, the sheriff’s office had issued an alert for Stephenson’s white Kia Optima, leading to her arrest. She was booked into the jail at 3:30 a.m. Friday on the felony charges and held without bond. In her mugshot, Stephenson is shown with injuries to her face.
Stephenson has a history of traffic offenses including two speeding tickets since last year, driving on a suspended license in 2017, failure to exercise due care in 2016 and earlier charges for child restraint violation and failure to wear a seat belt.
On her Facebook page, Stephenson bragged over the summer about getting her new Kia Optima, which she called “Ms. Butterfly.” She even posed in front of it in her bathing suit before heading on a beach trip.
And six days ago, she streamed live on Facebook as she drove around in a princess costume, thanked friends for celebrating her birthday and responded to comments.
For the victim’s part, he was being remembered by his family and friends, including one comment that called him “Car Wash Shorty.”
An autopsy will be conducted in Atlanta in the coming days, Bowen said.
