An Atlanta attorney has been charged with murder after he ran down and killed a man who allegedly hit his Mercedes Benz with a golf ball, a prosecutor said.
According to the news release, the incident occurred on July 30 when Schmitt "purposely steered" his 2011 Mercedes CLS 550 into Jahangard while in the driveway of a rental property owned by Jahangard in Sandy Springs, a rich suburb of Atlanta.
Schmitt, who surrendered himself to the authorities on Aug. 12, reportedly told investigators that he was passing the driveway when he saw Jahangard leaning over a green, county-issued trash can. He said Jahangard made a throwing motion with his arm before something, a rock or golf ball, hit the Mercedes, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A golf ball was found near the scene, reported the local news outlet, but there was no damage to Schmitt's car.
He swerved to miss it, Schmitt said, and ended up hitting Jahangard in the process. Video surveillance evidence, however, tells a rather different story.
A neighbor's surveillance camera captured part of the collision: Jahangard walked down a driveway and stood near the bottom where garbage cans were located. Schmitt drove by and as he "passes the driveway, he hits his brake." He pulls back up and "remains stationary" for 25 seconds. He then "quickly makes a left and starts to accelerate." The moment of impact is obscured. Jahangard is slammed to the ground, head bounces twice off pavement and his body is rotating.
"Schmitt's vehicle plows into the driveway and is not the type of driving for someone to 'turn around,' 'swerve to miss a garbage can,'" according to the complaint, quoting from Schmitt's prior claims. "The speed used to vault the garbage can, lift the front end of his car up and to slam the victim down so hard it causes a massive skull fracture ... is not an accident."