SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A judge added extra charges against the woman accused of a crash that killed a South Fulton police officer.
Santoria McLean appeared in court Monday. She faces eight charges now in the collision that led to the death of Police Capt. Helio Armando Garcia III on April 15.
Investigators said she was driving under the influence and going more than 100 mph at the time.
Members of Garcia’s family were in the courtroom, with many very emotional. Things got even more intense when a state prosecutor played dashcam video from the night of the crash.
“I’m here for my husband,” said his wife, Eliana Garcia. “I have to fight for him til the last moment until this case is over. It’s very hard seeing that video knowing he fought.”
In the preliminary hearing, they revealed that Garcia was alive right after the crash and got out of his car, but he later died at the hospital.
Police said Garcia was driving his patrol vehicle along Flat Shoals Road and Connell Road when another driver, identified as McLean, veered into his lane and hit him head-on.
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Officials charged McLean on May 15 and booked her into the Fulton County Jail. Before her arrest, she spent a month in the hospital for serious injuries related to the crash, and she remained in a wheelchair in court.
Her defense attorney questioned state troopers about whether anything was moved at the scene before the reconstruction team arrived, and they said “no.”
Charges against McLean include homicide by vehicle, reckless driving and erratic lane change.
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