Chandler Jones, a 26-year-old former high school and college basketball player, was killed after his car was struck from behind near the Mount Paran Road exit on Interstate 75 in Atlanta. Police say Jones had stopped his Honda Accord in the highway's gore area to check directions on his GPS when a Chevrolet Tahoe crashed into the back of his vehicle. He later died from his injuries.
Atlanta police investigators identified the driver of the Tahoe as Amanda Marie Hadden and reported that Jones's car was struck from behind near the exit, according to WSB-TV. Investigators accused Hadden of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. She was arrested following the collision and now faces several charges, including first-degree vehicular homicide and DUI, per the station's report.
A Zone Meant for Emergencies, Not Parking
Under the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 40-6-50, drivers are prohibited from stopping a vehicle within a highway gore — the triangular paved neutral zone that separates travel lanes from exit or entrance ramps — except in an actual emergency, with violations carrying fines up to $1,000 and license points, according to Georgia Criminal Lawyer. Gore zones are designed to separate traffic flow rather than serve as a place to pull over, which adds a layer of context to Jones stopping there while checking his GPS.
Hadden's legal exposure is considerably steeper. Georgia's first-degree vehicular homicide statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393, is a felony carrying a sentence of three to 15 years in prison per victim when a fatal crash is caused by DUI or reckless driving, as explained by Tom Rowsey Law. First-degree charges require a predicate felony traffic offense such as DUI, which is what investigators have alleged in Hadden's case. A first-offense DUI conviction on its own carries up to a year in jail, fines between $300 and $1,000, and a mandatory minimum of 40 hours of community service under state law, per the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety. If forensic testing shows Hadden was traveling 85 mph or faster, Georgia's “Super Speeder” law would also tack on an automatic $200 state fee, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services.
‘The Ideal Kid’ Remembered by His High School Coach
Jones graduated from B.E.S.T. Academy, Atlanta Public Schools' all-male STEM-certified school in the Carey Park neighborhood, where he played basketball under coach Marcus Smith for three years. Smith remained in touch with Jones long after his high school playing days ended, and he described his former player as a model student to everybody he interacted with, WSB-TV reported.
“Chandler was the ideal kid to be around someone's child,” Smith said, according to the same account. Smith added that Jones was the type of young man parents wanted their children around. Jones went on to continue his education and basketball career at Allen University, a private historically Black university in Columbia, South Carolina, founded in 1870, whose Yellow Jackets compete in NCAA Division II within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, per Wikipedia.
A Corridor With a Troubling Recent History
Jones's death is the second fatal crash in roughly a month along the I-75 corridor near Mount Paran Road. Exactly four weeks earlier, on July 31, a crash on the same stretch of southbound I-75 killed 27-year-old passenger Amanda Tanks when an alleged street-racing motorcycle struck a car, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Emergency crews had to block all southbound lanes after a vehicle fire broke out in that earlier wreck, which Hoodline covered in a report on the deadly street race.
The broader Mount Paran Road area has seen other fatal prosecutions as well. In September 2025, a fatal hit-and-run crash near Mount Paran Road NW and Northside Parkway NW killed a 62-year-old passenger and led to first-degree vehicular homicide charges against a 21-year-old driver who abandoned his vehicle before turning himself in at the Fulton County Jail, Hoodline reported at the time.
Investigation Continues
Georgia State Patrol maintains a specialized collision reconstruction team that performs forensic speed calculations and multi-vehicle impact analyses for major highway fatalities across metro Atlanta, a process that typically involves analyzing brake marks and vehicle data modules. The Atlanta Police Department's Accident Investigations Unit, part of its Special Operations Section, holds primary jurisdiction over fatal traffic crashes inside city limits and prepares arrest warrant applications submitted to Fulton County judges.
Jones's death has devastated those who knew him, and the case remains under investigation. Open questions include Hadden's specific level of impairment, her estimated travel speed, and how the case will proceed through Fulton County courts.
