Drew Charter alum Obituary, Death – A tragic car crash during a Georgia State Patrol (GSP) pursuit has claimed the life of 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke, a recent graduate of Drew Charter School and innocent bystander in the incident. The collision, which occurred in Atlanta’s Little Five Points area on Monday evening, April 14, has left the school and wider community mourning the loss of a young life full of promise.
Drew Charter School officials confirmed that Schoenke, a member of the Class of 2023, had been part of their school family since the second grade. In a statement released following the crash, the school community expressed deep sorrow at his passing, remembering Cooper not only as a student but also as someone who, along with his family, had played an active and longstanding role in the school’s life.
“This loss is deeply felt throughout our school community,” the statement read. “The Schoenke family has been a longstanding and active part of the Drew community.”
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the fatal incident unfolded when a trooper attempted to stop a speeding vehicle on I-20 East near the Boulevard exit. Authorities say the driver, later identified as 23-year-old Faduma Mohamed, was making erratic lane changes and refused to pull over when the trooper initiated a traffic stop. Mohamed then exited the highway at Moreland Avenue and continued to flee from law enforcement, prompting a high-speed pursuit.
During the chase, GSP reported that Mohamed drove recklessly through city streets, swerving between vehicles, speeding through intersections, and violating multiple traffic laws. As Mohamed approached the busy intersection of Moreland Avenue and McLendon Avenue in the Little Five Points area, she allegedly ran a red light and collided with a Honda Accord.
Cooper Schoenke was behind the wheel of that Honda Accord. The impact was on the driver’s side, and Schoenke was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the collision, Mohamed sustained injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. She now faces a series of serious charges, including felony fleeing, reckless driving, vehicular homicide, murder, failure to obey a traffic signal, improper lane change, and possession of a Schedule I narcotic.
The fatal crash has reignited a debate in Georgia over the dangers of high-speed police pursuits, particularly those that result in injuries or deaths to innocent bystanders. Local officials, community activists, and lawmakers are speaking out in the wake of the tragedy. A press conference has been scheduled to address the pursuit policies of the Georgia State Patrol and call for changes to protect the public.
Among those expected to speak at the press conference are Georgia state representatives Park Cannon, Gabriel Sanchez, and Eric Bell; Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs; Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari; former council candidate Devin Barrington-Ward; and Dr. Mark Spencer, a local physician.
They are expected to highlight concerns over how such pursuits are conducted and whether law enforcement is doing enough to minimize harm to bystanders. Their call for change is supported by data showing the risks associated with high-speed chases.
An investigative report from 11Alive journalist Zach Merchant, published in December, reviewed Georgia Department of Public Safety statistics from 2019 to 2023. It found that of nearly 7,000 pursuits conducted during that period, almost half resulted in a crash. Those incidents led to 1,326 people being injured—245 of whom were bystanders—and 73 deaths, including 15 innocent bystanders.
It is currently unclear how closely Georgia State Patrol troopers followed Mohamed during the final moments of the chase or whether their pursuit tactics influenced the crash. These details will likely be part of the broader investigation now underway.
As Drew Charter School grieves the loss of one of its own, it has offered counseling services to students and staff impacted by the tragedy. School leaders also asked the wider community to keep the Schoenke family in their thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.
The emotional impact of Schoenke’s death is being felt far beyond the halls of his former school. Friends and classmates describe him as kind, intelligent, and full of potential. Community members have begun expressing their condolences through messages and tributes, many of them highlighting how senseless and avoidable the tragedy feels.
As legal proceedings against Mohamed move forward, the crash has become part of a growing call to examine and potentially reform high-speed pursuit policies in Georgia. Advocates hope that by raising awareness and pressing for changes, future tragedies like the one that claimed Cooper Schoenke’s life can be prevented.
For now, Atlanta mourns the loss of a young man taken far too soon, as his family, school, and community begin to grapple with the grief of an innocent life lost in a moment of chaos and recklessness.