84-Year-Old Woman Arrested In Decatur Pedestrian's Death

DECATUR, GA — An 84-year-old woman has been arrested in the death of a woman who was hit by a car and killed while walking across Commerce Drive near the Kroger in downtown Decatur.

Angeline Holcombe, of Decatur, turned herself in to the Decatur Police Department on Wednesday and was booked at DeKalb County Jail on a vehicular homicide charge. Judith Merlin, 72, also of Decatur, was killed March 14 at the intersection of Commerce Drive and North Chandler Street.

According to police, she had been walking across the street on a crosswalk at about 3:22 p.m. when a vehicle leaving the Kroger parking lot turned left and hit her. At the time, Holcombe said she didn't see Merlin and another person in the crosswalk, according to police spokeswoman Lt. Jennifer Ross.

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Merlin was taken to a hospital with cuts on her torso, face and one of her arms but, after she arrived, it was discovered that she'd suffered internal injuries that led to "a major medical event," according to Ross.

Holcombe had already been charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The vehicular homicide charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, according to DeKalb County Jail records. Holcombe was released on a cash bond after being booked, according to the records.

Merlin, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., was co-founder of A Friend of the Family, a family-care service.

"She leaves a hole in the world and in our hearts that cannot be filled," her obituary reads. "And yet we know that every second of grief we feel is a result of the immeasurable gift we all have received from her life."

Angeline Holcombe photo via DeKalb County Sheriff's Office. Judith Merlin photo courtesy A Friend of the Family.