The driver who allegedly hit Joseph Lennos Wright late night Christmas Eve stopped to call 911 before wheeling away from the scene.

Wright was still breathing, lying on the ground near Anthony Road and Cedar Avenue, as paramedics worked to save his life, a Bibb County sheriff’s deputy noted in an incident report.

A witness told investigators she saw the driver and two others get out of the car to check on Wright before getting back in and driving away. Investigators combed the roadway collecting fragments of the Ford Crown Victoria as evidence to be preserved at the crime lab.

Wright, 54, died hours later at a hospital in the predawn hours of Christmas. His death marked the 16th and final pedestrian fatality on Bibb County roads during 2021. It also marked the third person to be killed in a hit-and-run last year.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Bibb County sheriff’s investigators arrested Jerry Dewayne Houston Sr. on charges of vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run in connection with Wright’s death. Houston, 55, remained in the Bibb County Jail on a $38,500 bond as of March 22, jail records show.

According to a deputy’s writeup of the incident, Houston reportedly called 911 after the crash and gave his phone number to the dispatcher. A supervisor at the 911 center traced the cell phone call back to a number belonging to Houston, an employee of the Macon Water Authority, according to the incident report.

Wright was fatally injured less than a half mile from his home on Adams Avenue and less than two miles from the Evergreen Drive address listed for Houston on the jail booking roster.

An analysis of 2021 crash reports by The Macon Newsroom showed 11 of the 16 pedestrians killed in Bibb County lived less than a mile from where they were fatally injured.

This also was the case for Irene Stubbs who was killed in a hit-and-run in East Macon the night of July 16.

Stubbs, 65, was less than a half mile from home when she was hit by a car at Old Clinton and Wood Valley roads.

A witness told investigators that he saw a man standing near Stubbs while she was lying in the road. The man told the witness Stubbs had been run over, but he did not hit her. The witness said the man left the scene, according to a sheriff deputy’s report.

A woman also told investigators she was driving north on Old Clinton Road and saw the car hit Stubbs as she was lying in the road, the report said. The woman said the driver told her he did not see Stubbs.

Investigators have issued an arrest warrant for 26-year-old Nathan Epps who faces charges of vehicular homicide and felony hit-and-run. The sheriff’s office said Tuesday the case will soon be posted to crimestoppers.com.

Epps and Stubbs both lived at Cherry Tree Hill Apartments on Old Clinton Road, according to the incident report.

Investigators are still working to solve the first fatal pedestrian hit-and-run of 2021.

On April 27 at about 8:45 p.m., Myeisha V. Glenn, 35, was reportedly hit by a white Tahoe in the 4800 block of Harrison Road, not far from where Interstate 475 crosses U.S. 80.

A father and son who were fishing at a pond reported hearing a loud popping noise, according to the deputy’s report of the incident.

The pair said they turned around and saw the Tahoe stopped across the street next to a MHC Kentworth sign. The father and son watched as a slender, tank-top clad man got out of the Tahoe and went to check on Glenn, the report said. As the pair of anglers started walking toward the property line, the man got back into the Tahoe and drove away.

A third witness told investigators he recognized the car from Wood Spring Suites, Bridgeview Inn and Suites and America’s Best Inn, the report said. Investigators did not find a vehicle that matched what witnesses described.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run is urged to call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.

To contact Civic Journalism Fellow Laura Corley, email [email protected] or call 478-301-5777.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of Myeisha Glenn’s last name.

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