Police say the Volkswagen driver fled on foot after striking a woman and her disabled SUV near Cleveland Avenue.
ATLANTA, Ga. — Atlanta police are investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 75 in which a Volkswagen struck a 23-year-old woman standing outside her disabled SUV before the Volkswagen’s driver left the scene on foot.
The woman, identified by the Fulton County medical examiner as Jaquelin Telesforo Vazquez, died after the early Sunday collision near Cleveland Avenue SW. Police said officers were called to I-75 northbound about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 23 and found an Acura MDX and a Volkswagen Tiguan involved in the crash.
Investigators said Vazquez had been driving the Acura north when it became disabled for an unknown reason. She moved the SUV onto the left shoulder and got out, according to the Atlanta Police Department’s preliminary findings. The Volkswagen, also traveling north, then struck both Vazquez and the Acura.
Police have not publicly explained why the Volkswagen left its travel lane or how the collision occurred. They also have not released the driver’s name, a description of the person or information about any possible charges. Authorities said the driver left the crash scene on foot after the impact.
The department’s Accident Investigations Unit was called to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash. Such investigations can involve physical evidence from vehicles and the roadway, but police have not disclosed what evidence was recovered in this case or whether investigators have identified the person who had been driving the Volkswagen.
One significant unanswered question involves why Vazquez’s Acura stopped in the first place. Police described the vehicle only as disabled for unknown reasons. They have not said whether a mechanical problem, an earlier collision or another event caused her to pull onto the shoulder.
An online fundraiser organized by a friend says Vazquez was driving home when another vehicle first hit her car and left. According to that account, she then pulled over and exited her vehicle before another vehicle struck her. Police have not publicly confirmed that sequence and have not announced that a separate first driver is being sought. The official police statement says only that the Acura became disabled before the Volkswagen collision.
The crash came during a deadly stretch on Atlanta-area interstates. Roughly two hours earlier Sunday, officers responded to a separate fatal pedestrian collision on the Downtown Connector near University Avenue. Police said a man was struck by several vehicles there. A day earlier, Atlanta police had also investigated another fatal pedestrian incident near the Interstate 85 and Georgia 400 interchange.
Those separate cases underscore a weekend in which several people died after being outside vehicles on high-speed roadways. In the Cleveland Avenue case, however, investigators are also dealing with a driver who did not remain at the scene, making the identification of that person a central unresolved part of the inquiry.
Police have emphasized that their account remains preliminary and could change as investigators obtain additional information. No arrest had been announced in connection with Vazquez’s death in the latest public information reviewed Wednesday, and authorities had not released a final finding on what caused the collision.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 26, 2026.