Pedestrian dies after being hit on Helen Highway

A Gainesville woman died after being struck by a vehicle while crossing Ga. 75 (Helen Highway) near Tom Bell Road on May 29.

Rosa Alba Perez, 63, was heading east on the highway, not in a crosswalk, when she was hit by a northbound 2002 Nissan Frontier, according to a report from Cpl. B.D. Taylor of the Georgia State Patrol Post 6 in Gainesville.

The driver, 30-year-old Katlyn Faith Mooney of Gainesville, said after an SUV passed her vehicle in the southbound lane, she saw someone walking across the highway and swerved left to try to avoid her, but that the pedestrian went in that same direction in an attempt to avoid the truck, according to Taylor.

The truck’s front struck Perez and continued left into the oncoming lane of travel before coming to a stop on the highway shoulder. Mooney was not injured, according to Taylor’s narrative.

Alcohol and drugs are not suspected to be a factor in the crash. No charges are pending.