John Eden

Name:
Eden, John Frederick

Date of Booking:
01/15/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to Stop or Return to Scene of Accident

Following Too Closely

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On January 15, 2026, at 1630 hours, I responded code 3 to the area of Loganville Hwy at Exchange Blvd in an attempt to locate a hit-and-run vehicle accident that had just occurred. The caller, [VICTIM #1], told us it was a red Toyota pickup truck with stickers on the rear window and gave a partial Georgia tag of “[REDACTED]”. Units were not able to make contact with this vehicle initially, but located it on FLOCK, 2002 Toyota Tacoma, Georgia tag [REDACTED]. FLOCK showed this vehicle had multiple stickers across the rear window. I requested that [VICTIM #1] email me the photo she took, but I have not received it.

I met with [VICTIM #1] at the Waffle House (213 Exchange Blvd). [VICTIM #1] stated that this kind of started as a road rage issue. [VICTIM #1] was driving her Nissan Versa, Georgia tag [REDACTED], and said she had to brake suddenly due to traffic ahead of her, and that made the male in the Toyota truck mad. The male was honking his horn and riding her bumper. [VICTIM #1] said she had to keep slowing for heavy traffic. All of a sudden, the Toyota crossed into the lane on her driver’s side and struck the rear bumper of her car, then just went around her and got in front of her.

[VICTIM #1] said she felt the impact, and once the Toyota got in front of her, it seemed like he knew he hit her because he attempted to take off and then turned into the abandoned Chick-fil-A parking lot to avoid her. [VICTIM #1] then showed me a photo she was able to take, which matched the photo from FLCOK, including all the stickers. [VICTIM #1]’s Nissan had the driver’s side of her rear bumper broken off.

I then went to [800 BLOCK] Pine Shadow Ln. and located the Toyota truck. I knock on the front door and make contact with John Eden. I asked John who the Toyota truck belonged to, and he said it was his. I asked John if he had been driving the truck in Bethlehem earlier today. John said he was. I then asked John what happened. John said [VICTIM #1] was the one being rude and was break checking him and using her middle finger to gesture at him.

John then stated he tried to go around her vehicle, and added he thought he had hit her car. John said he stopped in the abandoned Chick-fil-A parking lot, but [VICTIM #1] did not follow him in. John originally said he got out and did not see any damage, so he left. I showed John the damage on his front bumper and tire, and John changed his story, saying he thought he hit a rock or something.

John admitted he never called 911 or made any further attempt to locate [VICTIM #1]. John claimed he did not see [VICTIM #1] in the Waffle House parking lot, so he just drove home. John’s Tacoma had silver paint transfer on the front passenger side bumper and scrub marks on the front passenger side tire. This damage is consistent with the damage to [VICTIM #1]’s Nissan. For full details on the accident, see the accident report under this case number. I photographed the damage to John’s truck; the photos have been attached to this report.

John was placed under arrest, he was placed in handcuffs, double-locked behind his back, and checked for proper fit. John was searched incident to arrest, and no contraband was found. The back seat of my patrol vehicle was checked at the beginning of the shift, 0645 hours. John was placed into my patrol vehicle and transported to the Barrow County Jail and turned over to Jail staff without incident. The back seat of my patrol vehicle was searched before and after transport, and no contraband was found.

John was issued the following citations.

Citation number 138401 (OCGA 40-6-270) Hit and run- John failed to remain or return to the scene of the accident after striking another vehicle.

Citation number 138402 (OCGA 40-6- 49) Following too closely- John failed to leave enough stopping room from the car in front of him and/or distance to safely make a lane change around the car in front of him, and did strike the vehicle in front of him.

A/V 2427. Body-worn camera footage is available. My body camera died while interviewing John, interview was captured on Deputy Paz S-111’s body camera. The battery was changed in my body camera on the scene.

[End of Narrative]