Daryl Smith

Name:
Smith, Daryl Fitzgerald

Date of Booking:
09/28/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
Fail To Yield While Turning Left

Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to Stop or Return to Scene of Accident

DUI-Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (less safe)

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On September 28, 2025, at approximately 1335 hours, I, Officer Smith, responded to an accident with injuries at [1800 BLOCK] Dooley Town Road.

Upon arrival, I made contact with unit 2 and the passenger of unit 2. Unit 2 stated that he was traveling Southbound on Dooley Town Road when a black Camaro struck his vehicle. Unit 2 then stated that there was a witness who saw the accident occur. I then made contact with the witness, who stated that she did not see the actual collision but heard tires screeching. The witness also stated that Unit 2 was traveling Southbound at a decent speed when it was struck out of nowhere by Unit 1. The witness stated that Unit 2 was not at fault. After taking the statements from the witness, I then made contact again with unit 2, and that is when the passenger reported abdominal pain. At that time, I requested that a medical unit be dispatched to treat any possible injuries. The passenger of unit 2 was transported to Piedmont Athens by medical personnel.

I want to note that Unit 1 was not on the scene at the time of my arrival, and Unit 2 stated that Unit 1 had fled the scene but provided a detailed description of the driver of Unit 1. I then was able to locate Unit 1 at [1700 BLOCK] Granite Lane. Before I was able to take a statement from Unit 1, I observed him stumbling as he walked towards me. Upon making contact, I observed the odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his body, slurred speech, and glossy eyes. When asked how much he had had to drink, Unit 1 could not answer and kept referring to the accident when, at the time, I was questioning him about his alcohol consumption. After multiple attempts of asking, Unit 1 stated he only had two shots of Hennessy. At that time, Unit 1 was handcuffed and detained. Upon guiding Unit 1 back to my patrol vehicle, he was unable to keep his balance, and I had to physically prevent him from falling over.

I then made contact with the wife of unit 1, the registered owner of the at-fault vehicle, and she stated that she was not aware of her husband (unit 1) leaving, and she did not permit him to use her vehicle. Mike’s auto garage then towed unit 1, and unit 2 left the scene of its own free will. I observed driver-side front-end damage and hood damage on unit 1, as well as front-end damage on unit 2.

Unit 1 was arrested for the following:
40-6-71 Fail to yield while turning left
40-6-270 Hit and Run
40-6-391a1 DUI Alcohol less safe

Unit 1 was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Barrow, due to him being involved in a car collision, and once cleared by medical personnel, was transported to Barrow County Detention Center by another Statham unit. The driver of unit 2 reported no injuries at the time of the accident and refused medical treatment.

[End of Narrative]