Douglas County Teen Gets 5 Years in Hit-and-Run Case

A Douglas County teen has been sentenced to five years for causing a fatal hit-and-run death of a pedestrian last fall.

Tabitha Paige, 19, will serve at least two years in prison for the wreck that killed Gary “Tommy” Latimer, 41, of Villa Rica, the Douglas County Sentinel reported. Paige was sentenced Monday in Douglas County Superior Court. The rest of her sentence will be served on probation.

Paige pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, with a maximum sentence of five years. The Douglas County DA’s office had sought an indictment for vehicular homicide, but failed to draw it from the grand jury, the newspaper reported.

Paige was 18 at the time of the incident, which occurred around 10 p.m. Sept. 14 on Fairburn Road.

Latimer had bonded out of Douglasville Police custody and was walking away from the safety complex when the vehicle hit him. He died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Read more on the sentencing here

Related Patch stories:

• Hit-and-Run Suspect Arrested
• $5,000 Reward Offered for Hit-and-Run Vehicle Information
• Hit-and-Run Vehicle Sought by Police