A man who refused to stop for Georgia State Patrol troopers and crashed, killing a 12-year-old boy, has been charged with murder, investigators said Monday.
At 1:09 a.m. Friday, a trooper attempted to pull over a Kia Sorento speeding on Bethel Church Road in Paulding County. The driver pulled over, but refused to lower his window, the State Patrol said in an emailed statement.
The trooper then requested help from the Paulding sheriff’s office and a deputy quickly arrived.
“The male driver, who was later determined to be under the influence of alcohol, failed to comply with the deputy and trooper’s requests to roll down his window and provide his license and other pertinent information,” Sgt. Ashley Henson with the Paulding sheriff’s office said. “At the conclusion of the incident, it was discovered that the male driver had a suspended driver’s license as well. It was then that the Paulding deputy broke the driver’s-side window out of the vehicle.”
That’s when the driver, later identified as 35-year-old Charles Moore, fled the scene and ran over the trooper’s foot, investigators said.
A high-speed pursuit followed onto Ga. 92, where Moore was driving recklessly, the GSP said. The trooper ended the chase near Kilgore Path by using a pursuit immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, causing the Kia to exit the road and overturn in a ditch, investigators said.
Deputies and the trooper rendered aid to all three occupants of the SUV, Henson said. But the backseat passenger, 12-year-old Leden Boykins, was killed in the crash, the State Patrol said. He was not wearing a seatbelt.
Moore and the front-seat passenger, 14-year-old Blake Zyier, were both taken to the hospital with minor injuries, investigators said.
In addition to murder, Moore has been charged with 31 other offenses, including vehicular homicide, aggravated assault against a peace officer, DUI, endangering a child while DUI, open container in a motor vehicle, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, driving while license suspended, and reckless driving. Other charges include speeding, improper turn, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to obey a stop sign, and distracted driving.
He was being held late Monday at the Paulding County jail.
In addition to the Paulding charges, Moore is facing unrelated charges filed by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and the Covington Police Department, according to investigators.
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