With dozens of family members and friends wearing pictured memory buttons of their deceased loved one, a Clayton man pled guilty to homicide by vehicle May 25 in superior court and was sentenced to 15 years to serve for the September 2021 fatal crash of Rabun County Detention Center Officer Courtney Faith Zajdowicz.
Before Superior Court of Rabun County Hon. Judge B. Chan Caudell, Jaime Avila Reyes pleaded guilty to the Sept. 1, 2021, homicide by vehicle in the first degree; driving under the influence of alcohol-less safe; reckless driving; and driving without a license.
The courtroom was filled with teary-eyed family and friends of Zajdowicz, who wore buttons depicting photographs of Zajdowicz and the phrase “Justice for Courtney.”
Zajdowicz's parents, David Cross and Crystal Zajdowicz Cross, both of Clayton, read victim impact statements during the proceeding before Caudell announced the sentencing.
Reyes was indicted by a grand jury Dec. 8, 2021, on charges related to the crash.
A motion by the State to revoke bond for Reyes in the case was granted by Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge B. Chan Caudell at a hearing in January 2022.
Zajdowicz suffered fatal injuries when Reyes, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, veered his vehicle into her lane on the wrong side of the road near George Eller Curve on Highway 441 just north of Clayton.
A 2017 Chevrolet Silverado K150 driven by Reyes, who was 41 at the time of the incident, was traveling north on Georgia Highway 15 in the left lane. A 2013 Toyota Tacoma driven by Zajdowicz was traveling southbound. Reyes failed to maintain his lane and the Chevrolet Silverado crossed out of the left lane northbound and into the southbound lane, according to Georgia State Patrol (GSP).
“The Silverado front struck the front of the Toyota Tacoma. After impact, the Chevrolet Silverado rotated counterclockwise and came to an uncontrolled final rest facing southwest in the northbound lanes of GA 15 (US 441). The Toyota Tacoma came to an uncontrolled final rest facing south, partially in the southbound lane of GA 15 (US 441) and partially on the west shoulder of GA 15 (US-441),” the report stated.
Reyes was transported to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and admitted for an unknown injury.
Check out next week’s edition of The Clayton Tribune for the full story.
