COWETA COUNTY – On April 17th a Coweta County Grand Jury returned a true bill of Indictment against Christopher Anton Thornton Jr., 32, of Franklin, for the vehicular homicide of Toby Bowden on March 15th, 2023.
Just before 6 AM on the morning of March 15th, 2023, units with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office and Coweta County Fire Rescue were dispatched to the 40 mile marker of I85 North for an Accident with Injuries. A passerby had reported to 911 that a semi-truck had left the roadway, broken through barriers, and come to rest in the median of the interstate.
Units arrived to work the accident, requesting a “big list” wrecker to respond to help remove the semi-truck as well as Rhino Services to respond due to a fuel spill coming from the semi. A deputy notified dispatch that the wrecker had arrived on the scene at 6:35 AM.
Just 12 minutes later, at 6:47 AM a frantic radio call came from a deputy on the scene calling for EMS, quickly followed by an equally frantic request for an Air Life response.
While working the accident on the side of the interstate, a vehicle driven by Christopher Anton Thornton Jr. failed to yield to the host of emergency vehicles, instead crashing his vehicle into the accident scene, killing tow truck operator Toby Bowden instantly and narrowly avoiding deputies on the scene.
Thornton was detained at the scene and the accident was investigated and charged by the Georgia State Patrol. They found that Thornton was driving under the influence at the time of the accident. During the investigation, it was also found that Thronton had an active warrant out of another jurisdiction.
He was originally booked on the day of the accident for the charges listed below. Jail records show that he was last booked into the Coweta County Jail on February 21st, 2024, and is currently in the Coweta County jail with a bail amount of $51,000.
Booking Charges
- DUI Alcohol – Less Safe (M)
- Vehicular Homicide (F)
- Failure to Maintain Lane (M)
- Following Too Closely (M)
- Failure to Yield to Emergency Vehicles (M)
- Reckless Driving (M)
Indicted Charges (Count)
- Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree
- Reckless Driving
- Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree
- Driving Under the Influence
Defendant Information
While Thornton has no known previous criminal history in Coweta County, he does have criminal cases in Carroll County, where records show he actually most recently resides.
Previous Cases ( State Court – Carroll County )
- 2010
- STCR2010000221 – March 4th
- Statutory Rape
- 2020
- STM2020001620 – April 20th
- Marijuana – Possession Less Than 1 oz.
In March of 2010 records show that Thronton was charged with Statutory Rape. According to the proceedings of the case it lingered in court for nearly 2 years before being “Nolle Prossed” ( in short, prosecutors decided not to prosecute ) on May 1st, 2012.
Ironically, Thornton was charged with a single misdemeanor count of Possession of Marijuana Less than 1 oz on April, 20th, 2020. The case proceedings show 3 years of nothingness peppered with 2 bench warrants for not showing up to court dates.
This case is still active and records show that there is an outstanding bench warrant that was issued on June 2nd, 2022, and is more than likely the warrant that was found by dispatch on the day of the accident.
Bill of Indictment 2024R103
On May 15th, 2024, Thornton’s lawyer, Jackie Patterson, filed a motion with the court waiving an arrangement and pleading Not Guilty. This waives the defendant’s appearance on May 20th for what would have been his arraignment.
COUNT 1
Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree
O.C.G.A 40-6-393(a) ( Link )
- Any person who, without malice aforethought, causes the death of another person through the violation of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-163, Code Sections 40-6-390 through 40-6-391, or subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-395 commits the offense of homicide by vehicle in the first degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than 15 years.
COUNT 2
Reckless Driving
O.C.G.A 40-6-390 ( Link )
- Any person who drives any vehicle in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property commits the offense of reckless driving.
- Every person convicted of reckless driving shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or imprisonment not to exceed 12 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, provided that no provision of this Code section shall be construed so as to deprive the court imposing the sentence of the power given by law to stay or suspend the execution of such sentence or to place the defendant on probation.
COUNT 3
Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree
O.C.G.A 40-6-393(a) ( Link )
- Any person who, without malice aforethought, causes the death of another person through the violation of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-163, Code Sections 40-6-390 through 40-6-391, or subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-395 commits the offense of homicide by vehicle in the first degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than 15 years.
COUNT 4
Driving Under the Influence
O.C.G.A 40-6-391 ( Link )
- A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any moving vehicle while:
- Under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less safe for the person to drive;
