A 20-year-old Powder Springs man was arrested Thursday in connection with a crash outside a Cobb County child care center that killed a woman and sent her 3-year-old granddaughter to a hospital.
David Felt Exume was taken into custody on a felony charge of vehicular homicide and misdemeanor charges of driving recklessly and driving an unsafe vehicle in the crash Monday on Powder Springs Road.
According to Cobb County police, 54-year-old Ellen Shoulders was turning left out of the Madalyn’s House child care center near Forest Hill Road when her Chrysler PT Cruiser was hit by Exume’s Chevrolet Camaro.
The tread on Exume’s rear tires was worn nearly bald, and his brakes were ground down to the metal, police said in an arrest warrant obtained Friday by AJC.com. There was nothing to stop his vehicle, investigators said, as it accelerated “at full throttle from 73 mph to 80 mph in a posted 45 mph zone" and sped through the Forest Hill intersection in heavy traffic, according to the warrant.
The Camaro hit the PT Cruiser on its driver’s side. The impact sent the Chevy into eastbound traffic on Powder Springs Road, where it collided with a Kia Optima, police said. Emergency crews arrived on the scene about 4 p.m.
Shoulders was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her granddaughter was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite to be treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The child attended Madalyn’s House, the center confirmed to AJC.com.
“Ellen loved her grand baby girl, and I feel Ellen’s soul is what kept her safe,” her sister Tammy Christensen said.
The Kia’s driver, a 49-year-old woman, was taken to Wellstar Cobb Hospital and was expected to recover.
Exume was not injured in the crash, police said. He was booked into the Cobb County jail late Thursday night.
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