Jeffrey Parker, the CEO of Atlanta’s MARTA transportation service, has died, the agency confirmed.
Parker, 56, killed himself when he was struck by a train at the city’s East Lake station on Friday night. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Dekalb County Medical Examiner is investigating.
“The MARTA Board of Directors grieves the shocking death of our GM/CEO Jeff Parker who has died by suicide,” MARTA Board of Directors Chairwoman Rita Scott said in a statement. “He was an outstanding leader and steward of MARTA whose passing leaves us all heartbroken.”
Parker was named CEO and general manager of MARTA in 2018. He led the service through a time of expansion and also through the pandemic when public transportation saw a considerable decline in ridership.
With roughly 35 years of experience under his belt in the transportation industry, Parker was consistently recognized as a top leader in Atlanta. He was most recently recognized as one of Atlanta Magazine’s Most Powerful People of 2020 and Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Power 100: Most Influential Atlantans of 2020. IN 2019, he was chosen as the Man of the Year by the Atlanta Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar.
Tributes began pouring in for Parker, including from Georgia Governer Brian Kemp. The governor expressed his sadness over Parker’s passing. “In addition to a remarkable professional career in the public/private sectors, Jeffrey was known for his civic engagement and support for the advancement of his communities,” Kemp wrote.
On Saturday, the agency announced that the MARTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to name Collie Greenwood as interim general manager and CEO. “Greenwood joined MARTA in 2019 as the head of Bus Operations and was promoted to Deputy General Manager of Operations last January,” the board said in a statement.
