Susan Kirkland had just left her home for work on Old Norcross Road near Lawrenceville on July 22 when a Mercedes racing a motorcycle slammed into her car as she turned, according to police. Her car rolled over. She died at the scene. One of the drivers involved in the race went home without stopping to help.
Gwinnett County police said street racing caused the crash that killed Kirkland, as reported by WSB-TV. Officer Brock Marks said the Mercedes hit Kirkland's car as she was turning, causing it to roll over. Police said two people were racing on the road and traveling too fast to slow down before the crash.
A Life Devoted to Faith, Family and Animal Rescue
Kathy Vosper, who knew Kirkland, said she loved God deeply and cared about people and animals. Kirkland was a longtime Gwinnett County resident who was actively involved in neighborhood animal rescue and pet advocacy in the Glen Meadows subdivision off Old Norcross Road, according to posts shared on Facebook. Community members have since organized efforts to support local animal shelters in her honor.
One Driver Left the Scene
According to the same WSB-TV report, one of the two drivers involved in the race went home instead of stopping to help or notify authorities. It remains unclear which vehicle, the Mercedes or the motorcycle, that driver was operating, or whether charges have been filed against either party in Kirkland's death.
The circumstances echo a case from earlier this year in Duluth, where Gwinnett County police arrested 18-year-old Alan Vasquez Catalan on first-degree vehicular homicide charges after an alleged 100-mph street race on Breckinridge Boulevard left the other racing car's 28-year-old driver dead. Catalan reportedly drove home without notifying authorities before investigators tracked him down using local surveillance cameras and witness statements, per WSB-TV.
A Corridor Known for Speeding
Residents near Herrington Road on Old Norcross Road have noted online that while the posted speed limit is 45 mph, motorists frequently travel at 65 to 70 mph down the corridor following rush-hour congestion, according to discussion on Reddit. Gwinnett County police rely on an automated network of Flock Safety license plate readers and surveillance cameras along key thoroughfares including Old Norcross Road and Boggs Road to identify fleeing vehicles and track suspects in hit-and-run investigations, per the same discussion. That technology is expected to play a role as investigators work to identify the Mercedes and motorcycle involved in Kirkland's death.
Georgia's Felony Penalties for Fatal Street Racing
Under Georgia law, first-degree homicide by vehicle is a felony carrying a statutory prison sentence of three to 15 years per count when a fatal crash stems from reckless driving, drag racing, or leaving the scene of an accident. The statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393, was strengthened by House Bill 534, signed into law in 2021, which established the offense of reckless stunt driving and criminalized organizing or promoting drag races under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-43.1, according to information published by Gwinnett County.
Local prosecutors have shown a willingness to pursue lengthy prison terms in similar cases. In October 2025, 22-year-old Emanuel Rene Esfahani was sentenced to 30 years with 16 to serve after pleading guilty to five counts of first-degree vehicular homicide for a 2023 street race on State Route 316 that sent a truck plunging 37 feet off an overpass, killing five teenagers, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And in June, a 17-year-old was arrested and held without bond on felony hit-and-run and serious injury by vehicle charges after allegedly racing at 121 mph on Interstate 985 in Buford and severely injuring an innocent driver, per WSB-TV.
Traffic Deaths Outpacing Homicides in Metro Atlanta
Kirkland's death adds to a grim regional pattern: traffic crashes in five core metro Atlanta counties claimed 425 lives in 2024, exceeding the region's 410 recorded homicides that same year, according to data from Propel ATL. Gwinnett County police have periodically run dedicated enforcement details targeting street racing, including an August 2021 sweep that resulted in eight arrests, more than 45 citations, and seven impounded vehicles.
No arrests connected to Kirkland's death had been announced as of publication. Her death marks another entry in a string of fatal street-racing crashes across Gwinnett County this year, including a March vehicular homicide case in Duluth and a fatal DUI-related crash involving a nursing student that Hoodline previously reported.
