COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed after a 78-year-old bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run in Cherokee County in March. The lawsuit alleges the driver in the hit-and-run was high on whippets, also known as nitrous oxide or galaxy gas.
On March 3, Charles Johnson was struck and fatally injured by a car while riding his electric bicycle on a sidewalk on Towne Lake Parkway.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said the driver, Joseph "Joey" Tillman, was later arrested several weeks later and charged with DUI and vehicular homicide.
This week, 11Alive obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed in Cobb County Superior Court in September by Johnson's wife, Regina Johnson, and accuses Galaxy Gas LLC, International LLC, and Cloud 9 Smoke & Vape shop of negligence.
According to the lawsuit, Tillman had allegedly purchased a tank of Galaxy Gas nitrous oxide from the Cloud 9 Smoke & Vape shop located just two miles from the crash site.
Less than an hour before the collision, Tillman reportedly began inhaling the gas, commonly abused for its short-lived but intense euphoric effects, known as "whippets."
The lawsuit alleges this caused Tillman to pass out as he approached the intersection of Towne Lake Parkway and Wyngate Parkway. This is where he lost control of his 2016 Infiniti Q50 and allegedly hit and killed Charles.
Charles, who was wearing a helmet at the time, sustained "catastrophic injuries to his head and body," the lawsuit added.
Despite intensive care efforts, he succumbed to his injuries on March 10. Charles leaves behind Regina and their three adult children.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the businesses knowingly marketed and sold nitrous oxide to customers for recreational abuse, despite its packaging disclaimers claiming it was "for culinary use only" and "do not inhale."
