Driver charged in fatal crash

Published 6:50 pm Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Georgia State Troopers have released details on a hit-and-run crash on New Franklin Road that killed a young boy and injured several others.

On July 24, State Troopers were called to a single-vehicle accident on New Franklin Road (Hwy 27) in Troup County.

GSP crash investigators determined that a 2002 White GMC Yukon was traveling south on Hwy 27 in the left lane at which point the vehicle failed to maintain its lane and entered the center median.

The driver, later identified as Malinda Michelle Armstrong, overcorrected and traveled back across both southbound lanes onto the west shoulder. The Yukon continued south on the west roadside of the highway and began to overturn multiple times.

Three occupants were ejected while the vehicle was overturning.

After the collision, the driver fled the scene.

One of the passengers, an unidentified 9-year-old boy, passed away from injuries sustained during the crash the following day.

Armstrong, 31, of Carrollton, GA, has since been charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, driving too fast for conditions, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane and fail to use safety belts.

Armstrong is currently being held at the Troup County Jail where she was denied bond.