Driver Indicted In Crash That Killed Canton Teen

CANTON, GA — A Cherokee County grand jury has indicted the man behind the wheel of a pickup truck involved in a fatal crash that killed a Canton teenager last year. Cameron Tyler Childers, 18, was indicted last week on two counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree and one count each of reckless driving and driving under the influence (less safe) of drugs, court records show.

Deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office were dispatched around 1:52 p.m. June 19 to the accident, which was reported along Hightower Road just east of Lower Creighton Road near Ball Ground.

An investigation showed a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck driven by Childers, of Canton, was traveling westbound on Hightower Road when it left the roadway, rolled down an embankment and struck a tree, sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Marianne Kelley previously told Patch.

Childers was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. The 16-year-old passenger, Mahlon Thornton, also of Canton, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sgt. Kelley told Patch both teenagers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision.

According to warrants taken out by the sheriff's office, investigators determined the truck was traveling about 73 miles an hour in a 55 mile-per-hour speed zone when it collided with the tree.

The indictment issued last week notes Childers drove the truck "in a reckless manner and did disregard the safety of persons and property when he did drive at a high rate of speed that was unsafe for the roadway and conditions," and failed to maintain his lane when the truck left the road and struck a tree. The indictment also notes there was an amount of marijuana in Childers' blood to make him a less safe driver.

Childers, who was 17 at the time of the accident, is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Feb. 7 in Courtroom 2A at the Cherokee County Justice Center.

Photo: Cameron Tyler Childers. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office