In a case that law enforcement calls highly unusual, a Duluth man has been charged with murder after his vehicle hit a house in Suwanee, which then caught fire, leading to the death of a woman inside.
Gwinnett County Police Department Cpl. Michele Pihera said the accident and subsequent fire actually happened last month, but the occupant of the house died over the weekend, and that prompted the additional charges.
Pihera said the incident occurred on Meadow Church Road in unincorporated Suwanee.
"On the early morning of Jan. 21, a couple of our officers and the Gwinnett County Fire Department were dispatched to a traffic collision, and when they got there, they found that the vehicle was not only on fire but the house that the vehicle struck was also on fire," Pihera said. "They found a woman that was inside the home and she was unconscious."
The woman, later identified as 72-year-old Janet Keenan, was taken to the hospital.
Police discovered that the driver of the vehicle had fled the scene. The vehicle was impounded and the case was turned over to a traffic investigations unit, according to Pihera.
"[The investigator] was able to determine that the driver was a man named Ayron Poche - he's 24-years-old out of Duluth," said Pihera. "Four days after the collision, he was able to track down Poche and arrest him for several different traffic charges and hit and run charges."
On Monday, Feb. 4, the investigator learned that Keenan died as a result of her injuries over the weekend. That's when Poche was charged with felony murder and criminal damage to property in the second degree.
"You know, this isn't our first car versus house scenario in Gwinnett County, but what makes this one little bit different is that not only did the car catch fire, but the house caught fire, as well and a woman died as the result of this collision," Pihera said. "The investigator felt strongly enough that a felony murder charge was appropriate in this case and fortunately, the judge agreed."
Pihera said investigators are still unsure what caused Poche to crash into the house; they also do not know why he left the scene.
Poche remains in the Gwinnett County Jail.
