Investigators believe a Jonesboro man was driving 70 mph in a 40-mph zone when he caused a rollover crash in Cobb County that killed three teenage girls from Ohio.
Nearly six months after the crash, police have arrested the driver thought to be responsible.
Martez Darshun Smith, 22, was behind the wheel of a Chrysler 200 when it overturned Aug. 30 on Six Flags Parkway, throwing three backseat passengers from the vehicle, according to Cobb police. Mitia Pruitt, 17, Chloe Dudley, 18, and Maniya Connelly, 19, were killed.
Connelly was from Akron, Pruitt was from Steubenville and Dudley was from Xenia, police said.
Smith was arrested late Tuesday and charged with three counts of first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane, Cobb jail records show. He was picked up at the Clayton County jail following an arrest there on unrelated charges, according to booking records.
According to investigators, Smith lost control of the Chrysler, which left its lane when it came around a curve on a wet road near Queensferry Drive too quickly. The car crossed into the westbound lane, left the road and smashed into a tree, police previously said. It then overturned and came to a stop on the north side of the road about 11 p.m.
Smith drove “at a speed of 70 mph in a posted 40 mph zone, as evidenced from the data in the Chrysler’s event data recorder, approaching a right curve at a time when the roadway was wet,” his arrest warrant states.
Connelly died at the scene, according to police. The other two girls were taken to Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, where they also died from their injuries.
Smith was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be treated for his injuries. A front-seat passenger, Charles N. Trotter of Roswell, was not injured but got out of the car and left the scene on foot, police said. He was found later and taken into custody on an outstanding warrant.
Smith was being held without bond Wednesday at the Cobb jail.
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