ATLANTA — The family of a man killed in a car crash Friday morning said it never should have happened, and they said a police chase is partly to blame.
Jonathan Denham, 41, was killed at the intersection of Roosevelt Highway and Delano Road in South Fulton early Friday morning, when another car crashed into his driver’s side.
“It hit hard. Hit very hard,” said his big sister, Shalonda Denham. "He was my brother. He was everything to me."
Shalonda said right after she got the call, she raced over to the scene.
“I see my brother’s car, it was chaotic and they were trying to break his window," Shalonda described. "I thought they was getting him out. They were not."
According to Georgia State Patrol, Cobb County police tried to stop a Dodge Durango on I-285 around midnight on Friday, when it exited onto Camp Creek Parkway.
Cobb Police said during the pursuit, an officer was conducting a traffic stop when the officer was nearly hit by the Durango.
GSP said that the Cobb police officer lost sight of the Durango, then came upon a crash where the Durango had hit Jonathan’s vehicle on the driver's side, killing him. GSP said the driver tried to run away but was arrested by Cobb police officers.
Cobb police said the 28-year-old driver of the Durango was taken to Grady Hospital. He faces Aggravated Assault Against Law Enforcement Officer and Attempting to Elude charges. He also has outstanding warrants in Pennsylvania (weapons and drug offenses) and in Chicago (burglary).
Additional charges are pending related to the fatal traffic crash, Cobb police said in a release.
Denham’s mother, Sara Acree, said knowing it was a pursuit makes his death even harder.
“If you’re chasing someone and seeing it’s gonna go too far, if you have the tag you know what he looked like, you know if he done one thing wrong, he’ll do another thing, so you can back off and no one gets hurt,” Acree said.
Shalonda said her brother was born and raised in College Park and was known by his friends as “Gunzup.” She said he loved cooking and hanging out with his kids.
“He was fun. He was aggravating. He was giving -- whatever you need, he gave," she described. "He was that go-to guy."
Acree said it doesn't feel right to have to bury her son and she’ll miss him every day.
“Him being silly -- I won’t get my chicken dance no more on Mother’s Day,” Acree lamented.
Denham’s family will be holding a balloon release Tuesday evening off of Roosevelt Highway where he died. The balloon release is set to start around 5 p.m.
An online fundraiser has been set up by Jonathan's family to help pay for his funeral.