GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga — Holly Frankovich says she has been to countless court appearances for nearly three years, waiting for the day the man accused of hitting and killing her husband, Geoff, with a car would finally face consequences.
Last Tuesday’s court appearance was supposed to be the last. Then the suspect didn’t show up.
“The justice system and the court system failed me,” said Frankovich.
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It was October 2019 when Geoff Frankovich, 65, died when a Walmart employee at the time crashed into him as Frankovich walked to his car from a Walmart, according to Gwinnett Police.
Gwinnett Police say Mario De Paz Hurtarte, 20, was driving at 36 mph when he crashed into Frankovich inside the Walmart parking lot on Sardis Church Road.
Hurtarte is accused of continuing to drive until he crashed into a car, leading to his arrest.
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Grief is, you know, like waves,” Holly Frankovich said, speaking about the death of her husband of 19 years. “It comes and goes but it’s never goes away. I’m lonely and I miss him terribly.”
Frankovich made sure to attend every court appearance she could since her husband’s death. Hurtarte posted a $10,000 bond a month after the deadly crash.
“They just kept letting him ask for more time,” she said. “A continuance, and a continuance, and then a continuance.”
Last Tuesday at what would have been Hurtarte’s final court appearance to accept a plea deal, the district attorney’s office confirmed that Hurtarte didn’t show up. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
“It looks like he’s been planning and never had any plan to take responsibility for killing my husband,” said Frankovich.
She says she is offering $15,000 reward for his rearrest in a final attempt for justice.
“I don’t think I’ll have peace,” she said, “until I get it for him.”
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