A 52-year-old Oxford, Georgia man is behind bars, accused of striking and killing a woman on a Conyers roadway early Monday morning and then fleeing the scene. Conyers police arrested Derrick Lydell Mathis at a local motel Monday, less than 12 hours after the fatal crash, and he now faces a charge of homicide by vehicle.
The victim has been identified as 43-year-old Andrea Cantrell, who was struck on Dogwood Drive early Monday morning, according to 11Alive. Police said Mathis struck Cantrell with his vehicle and left the scene without stopping, according to WSB-TV. Investigators identified both the vehicle and Mathis through surveillance footage before turning to the city's network of automated license plate readers to close in on him.
Flock Cameras Lead Police to a Harvel Street Home
The Conyers Police Department used its Flock Safety license plate reader system to track the vehicle involved in the crash to a home on Harvel Street in Conyers, the outlet reports. From there, investigators secured warrants for Mathis and, working alongside Georgia State Patrol, tracked him to a Conyers motel, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Police Chief R. Scott Freeman credited the speed of the arrest to the department's ability to quickly pull vehicle information once officers had a lead. Freeman said timely access to vehicle information enhanced the investigation and contributed to identifying a suspect and making an arrest within 12 hours of the initial call, per the same account. Georgia State Patrol remains the lead agency on the case, with Conyers officers assisting as needed going forward.
A Familiar Tool, and a Recent Scandal, in Conyers
This isn't the first time Conyers police have pointed to their Flock camera network as the key to a fast felony arrest. In April, the same system helped officers track down a suspect within hours after a stabbing at a Conyers Nissan dealership.
But the technology has also drawn serious scrutiny in Conyers this year. Less than a month before Mathis's arrest, a supervisor in the Conyers Police Department's Real-Time Crime Center was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after an internal audit revealed she had misused the same Flock Safety camera system to track her domestic partner, according to CBS News. That arrest was part of a wider wave of Georgia Bureau of Investigation probes into local agencies across metro Atlanta, which also led to officer arrests in Albany and DeKalb County after internal audits flagged improper plate reader queries, as reported by On Common Ground News.
Georgia's Vehicular Homicide Law and Local Crash Risk
Under Georgia's O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393, causing a fatal crash and failing to stop at the scene constitutes first-degree homicide by vehicle, a felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison, according to Atlanta DUI Lawyer. State law under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 also requires any driver involved in a crash resulting in injury or death to stop immediately, provide identifying information, render aid, and contact emergency services, per EHG Law Firm.
Rockdale County has faced its own reckoning with crash severity in recent years. A traffic safety analysis conducted for the county's Comprehensive Safety Action Plan found that roughly one out of every 23 motor vehicle crashes in Rockdale County results in death or serious injury, according to Dan Chapman & Associates. Statewide, pedestrians account for roughly 16% of all traffic fatalities in Georgia, one of five states that together make up nearly half of all pedestrian deaths nationwide, per C. Ron Smith Attorney.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's broader look at license plate reader misuse remains ongoing, and it is unclear whether any additional agencies will face scrutiny. For now, Mathis remains in custody as Georgia State Patrol continues to lead the investigation into Cantrell's death.
