By Talia Mollett
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - Police have confirmed the driver involved in a fatal accident Sunday evening did not have a United States driver's license and police have yet to locate records to indicate he was a legal immigrant, Officer Mark Bishop with the Marietta Police Department said.
Bishop said Kennesaw resident Nicasio Rodrigo Vicente-Hernandez, 29, was involved in two prior accidents Sunday evening before his third and fatal collision.
Vicente-Hernandez was allegedly fleeing an earlier fender-bender when he sideswiped a second car while heading the wrong way on the Canton Road Connector, Bishop said. Seconds later, Vicente-Hernandez, driving a 1999 Mercury Villager, collided head-on with a 1995 Ford Taurus carrying four people - two of whom died in the collision, Bishop said.
Braselton residents Rodney Godfrey, 47, and son Eric Godfrey, 17, died in the accident. Rodney Godfrey was driving.
Mary Godfrey, who was riding in the front passenger seat, remains in serious condition at Atlanta Medical Center. Ms. Godfrey is being held in the Intensive Care Unit, hospital spokeswoman Kendra Gerlach said.
A third passenger, the couple's 12-year old son, was released yesterday from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The son, whose name is not being released to the public, suffered a broken collarbone and rib, along with a bruised lung. He is staying with his uncle, Bishop said.
The family of Vicente-Hernandez was contacted yesterday. They said they saw Vicente-Hernandez Sunday evening before the accident. He washed his car, they said, and then left the house to go to dinner. He had not been drinking, they said.
Pedro Vincente, who resides at Vicente-Hernandez's address, said Vicente-Hernandez had been in the United States for nearly 12 years.
Bishop said the Marietta Police Department is awaiting toxicology results before they can possibly determine the cause of the accident. The toxicology report may take up to 30 days to process, he said.
Although he did not hold a Georgia driver's license, Vicente-Hernandez had a valid Mexico driver's license and obtained car insurance in Georgia through Infinity Insurance Company, said Marcella Sill, an insurance agent with Gordon Agency in Kennesaw. Gordon Agency sells Infinity insurance products. She said Vicente-Hernandez applied for the auto coverage at the Kennesaw location and provided valid information when the insurance was first issued in October 2007.
Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) said Senate Bill 350, a bill he co-authored, will have many of the answers Georgians are seeking when it comes to licensing immigrants. Wiles will go before the House Rules Committee and ask for a floor vote today. The bill already passed a Senate vote last month.
If passed, the bill would stiffen penalties for anyone caught driving on a suspended or revoked license, as well as for drivers never issued a license. First time offenders could receive two days imprisonment, while repeat offenders could receive a minimum of 10 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. All offenses will be taken into account over a five-year period, and fourth time violators would be charged with a felony.
"If you don't have a license, you shouldn't drive in Georgia. And if you do drive without a license, you will go to jail," Wiles said. "People are dying needlessly. It is a privilege to drive, not a right. We want competent drivers. "
SB 350 also provides that if a driver is convicted, they will be fingerprinted. This will hopefully cut down on repeat offenders, Wiles said.
Last year, Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed a similar bill, SB 15. Perdue said he was concerned the bill would subject people with valid out-of-state driver's licenses to harsh penalties when they are not willfully disobeying the law. Wiles said the current bill addresses those issues.
Under current law, a person must obtain a Georgia's driver's license if they have lived in Georgia more than 30 days. Foreign exchange students and diplomats, however, have the right to drive in the state for more than 30 days on their foreign driver's license, Wiles said.
tmollett@mdjonline.com
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Posted Comments
This is so sad...My prayers go out to the families.
First of all, his entire family needs to be deported. Second, his employer needs to be looking at life inside a jail cell. You know, he was not even supposed to wash his own car! What is wrong with these invaders? There is no law they won't break.
Who was his employer? Who rented to him? Aiding & abetting illegals in Cobb County MUST STOP!
He should get a needle in the arm; deportation is too good for him. He'll evenutally come back!
Have placed a call to this sorry excuse for an insurance company that issued the license to Hernandez. The company is run by Hispanics, based on the voice message I heard. My guess is that Hernandez is neither a foreign-exchange student, nor is he a diplomat. And at best he had a Mexico license which should not have even been considered when he was issued insurance to begin with. Companies such as these cater to illegals with no regard for the safety of legal, law-abiding citizens..they continue to issue insurance and the sort without verifying that each person is both here legally and qualified to be driving at all. That should be considered a crime...and the company that issued the insurance be held as an accessory in the deaths of the innocent family members who lost their lives needlessly this past weekend on the Canton Road Connector.
This family is our friends. Rod was a Shriner, a hard worker, a family man who loved the Lord and his family and friends. The young boy was a star student and enjoyed music, playing in competition all over the state. May GOD have mercy on the life of he who took the lives of these two wonderful people.
Powdertowner's sentiment is correct. The problem is this particular illegal won't be available for a needle in the arm. It seems he is already seriously dead...from the wreck he initiated...which killed two innocents. I'm supposed to have even more patience for this type of behavior? I think not.
Isn't diversity great?
Gov.Perdue better not veto the "no license" bill this year. To many Americans are dying at the hands of illegal aliens who don't know the rules of the road and they're mostly Mexicans. Detain and deport all those in the state right now, we don't want them here.
Here is the point to this story. Any American citizen who is afraid that this could happen to them and their relatives or friends, had better not take consolation in thinking that the "authorities" "Uncle Sam", or some other Father or Mother figure such as Hillary, Obama, or McCain, is going to "fix" this. No sorry. make it worse, yes, fix it NO! Folks, whevever you live in the U.S. you are on your own. No one in Washington is looking out for YOU. They have their own agenda in D.C. Isn't that clear by now? Rather, it is We, the American citizenry who need to stay on this worthless political hacks and corrupt administration 24/7 or they WILL kill us with their "plans."
Thank you to all the pro illegal types. The blood of these people and others are on your hands!
We can stop the travesty of our laws, if only the majority of Democrats would co-sign the SAVE ACT. We can stop activist judges who rule from the bench, and not abide by the Constitution? With only 18 more votes to go, we could bring this enforcement only bill to a vote. However, the Democrats want to attache an addendum to the bill. It would give the 12 to 20 million foreign nationals occupying our nation, an easy ride to legality. This is wrong when millions wait for years patiently, to get THE PEOPLES permission to get a entry visa. The SAVE ACT is a by-partisan law is awaiting just 18 signers, to bring this enforcement only to a House vote. The SAVE ACT will supersede any state laws, in its magnitude. It will go after the real culprits who are the predator employers. It is enforcement by Attrition or Self-Deportation. Cannot get work, then they will leave of their own accord.If you are one of the citizens fed up with subsiding the poor, uneducated from around the world. When the new personage steps into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, then we will be seeing the 12 to 20 million getting a path to citizenship. Nobody should have a right to legalization without going home and being processed like all immigrants. YOU! And only YOU, can stop this travesty of our Immigration laws? Tell your representatives to co-author THE SAVE ACT? Congress is currently on recess through March 31st, so your representative will likely be in the home constituency and available to meet with its citizens. FREE FAXES FOUND HERE. Keep calling your Congressmen today, toll free numbers include 1-877-851-6437 and 1-866-220-0044, or call toll 1-202-224-3121 AND REGISTER YOUR OUTRAGE at ongoing efforts to keep our country from enforcing its immigration laws! http://capwiz.com www.numbersusa.com www.fairus.org www.vdare.org
Infinity Insurance Company brags in their corporate mission statement that they are the second largest writer of non-standard (high risk) automobile insurance. Their website is also available in Spanish -- anyone surprised.
Here in New Jersey although I'm Latin I'm tired of seen so many illegal aliens killing and laughing at the generosity of American, even the ones who employ them. Most of them are anti American and Anti learning. They make us all look bad.
Dont worry, they are just here to try and make a better life. And kill us in the process. I hope that ins agency gets sued for millions, and it would be very cool to see demonstrators rioting in front of the place.
you call this "stiff penalities" what a joke
this bill like all the rest is a joke_what "stiff penalties" two days in jail! like this is going to worry these people
Actually, I think this is what we get when we persecute the undocumented immigrants at the local level. They are NOT going to leave, but they will flee from an accident because they know Cobb will initiate deportation if they are caught. Maybe if we didn't do that, he wouldn't have felt the need to flee the first accident (but we'll never know since he's dead).
My sincere condolences to the Godfrey family and friends. I anyone reading this has insurance with Infinity Insurance Company, please take the time to investigate their business practices. Why were they insuring someone in the U.S. without a valid drivers license issued by one of our states. Don't help businesses that make their profits at the expense of our safety and sovereignty.
I AM SO FURIOUS about all of the murders by car of innocent Americans by disgusting, drunk, careless, law breaking ILLEGAL ALIENS!!! I WANT THIS CRIME WAVE TO STOP!!! I WANT THE NATIONAL MEDIA TO MAKE IT A BIG DEAL!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
I blame all of our spineless politicians who continue to watch Americans suffer because they care more about political correctness and maintaining their power. I am tired of prayer vigils and group counselors to deal with pain of normal law-abiding citizens while our elected officials sit by hoping they don't have to make a decision that favors American citizens. Absolutely disgraceful.
I work for an ambulance service in the city and I do experience some unique situations with people of questionable residential status.When people are faced with extreme consequences,it will cause them to act in a more irrational fashion. Look at African Americans who run from the police because they are 'afraid'. This is largely due to past behavior from police officers when dealing with a certain group of people. I majorly agree that the consequences for homicide by vehicle needs to be more severe, but are we that dissilusioned to think that it is only a crime between Americans and Non-Americans? What about the American teens who murder other American teens becasue they chose to drink and drive? When those situations arise, you have people mourning for both families, and not the one who was the true victim. No one is shouting for the death penaly for the surviving teen. No one is attempting to burn the parents at the stake. Why should a 'Mexican' family be any different? What about the Americans who murder their family and friends and other American strangers just by driving recklessly? Running the red light, failure to yield, generally not following the directions of the road that we all learn. Do we need anymore excuses to redefine the racial line? It is too sad to attack one group of people and place the fault of one person on an entire race.
To "An Advocate For All": You are missing the point. Every country in the world has laws which it's citizens are required to abide by. When they fail to abide by those laws they suffer the consequences. Laws are made to protect citizens from harm. However, that does not make ok for anyone else coming into this country to thumb their nose at our laws because they want to and kill American citizens. And, while I'm at it, how does race enter into this? We are talking about someone who broke the law of the land to get in this country and then continued to breaking our laws by driving without a license. He then broke a final law by killing 2 people. What does race have to do with that? Why is it when people complain that people are flooding into this country from who knows where and causing the deaths of 3,000 American citizens each year they are automatically racist? I don't recall in any of these posts, other than yours, where people are bringing race into it. Was the driver not from Mexico? He was, so why is it racist to talk about that fact? The truth is he did not have a right to be here. He did not have a right to be driving a car and because of his conscious action 2 people are dead.
Goodbye, Eric. You have and will continue to be missed.