Macon man dies after being struck last month by wrong-way driver on I-16, cops say
A Macon man who was critically injured when a wrong-way, drunken driver crashed into his car on Interstate 16 last month died Friday morning after never regaining consciousness, officials said.
The victim, John E. Jones, 41, had been at the wheel of a Chevrolet Malibu and was approaching Spring Street on the interstate the afternoon of May 16 when he was struck head-on by a Chevy Silverado pickup going the opposite direction, Bibb County sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
Jones was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m. Friday, Coroner Leon Jones said.
The driver of the truck, Jenna Beth Scheidegger, 41, of Dawson County in north Georgia, allegedly made a U-turn on the highway’s eastbound lanes approaching downtown Macon and headed west into oncoming traffic. It was then that she collided with Jones’ car, investigators said Friday.
Scheidegger, who lives near Lake Lanier, was not seriously injured and was jailed soon after the wreck on charges that included DUI, obstructing police and causing serious injuries with a motor vehicle.
Sheriff’s officials said in their Friday statement that investigators “will be requesting” that the charges against Scheidegger be upgraded to first-degree vehicular homicide.