Derek Moore

Name:
Moore, Derek Ty

Date of Booking:
04/10/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
HIT AND RUN; DUTY OF DRIVER TO STOP AT OR RETURN TO SCENE OF ACCIDENT

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE

REGISTRATION AND LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

FAILURE TO MAINTAIN INSURANCE

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 Thursday, April 10, 2025, at approximately 00:40, I, Deputy A. Ortega, was patrolling the area of GA-15 at Cross St., Mountain City, Ga, when I came across a blue Subaru WRX STI bearing a North Carolina license plate [REDACTED]. Its hazard lights were activated and partially blocked the right lane on GA-15 southbound, where both lanes merged into one.

I activated my emergency lights on my patrol vehicle and advised dispatch that I was going out with that vehicle. I approached the driver’s side door and noticed airbags deployed in multiple directions inside the vehicle. The car was left unlocked, and no key was located inside, I looked inside the vehicle and saw no one inside or around the area of the car. I began inspecting the outside of the vehicle for damage. I noticed heavy front-end damage near the passenger side headlight of the car, the passenger side front fender, the passenger side front and rear door, and the passenger side front tire. I advised dispatch that the car was wrecked and abandoned at that time. It should be noted that the hood of the car was still warm to the touch and still emitting heat from the engine.

I advised dispatch to run the registered owners’ information in GCIC, and they informed me it came back registered to a male subject identified as Derek Ty Moore. Dispatch advised me that his residence was in Sylva, NC. I requested that dispatch have their local law enforcement agency perform a welfare check on Derek to see if he was driving the vehicle and to make sure he was not severely injured. I requested the on-call wrecker service to tow the car.

While performing a vehicle inventory search per policy, I noticed the center console storage space was left open and contained a uniform traffic citation from North Carolina. The citation had been issued to Derek, the vehicle’s registered owner.

While documenting the crash scene, it was discovered that the vehicle had crashed into a power pole, causing significant damage.

While awaiting the wrecker service to tow the car, a secondary vehicle pulled off to the side of the road with its hazard light activated and stopped near the crash scene at approximately 01:11 am. I made contact with the driver, who stated that the crashed vehicle was her son’s, who was in the front passenger seat. I asked the male subject to step out of the car, which he did without an issue. The male subject was later identified as Derek Ty Moore through his North Carolina driver’s license.

I asked Derek if he was driving the vehicle, and he said he was. I asked for Derek’s license, which he provided me without an issue. Derek’s mom asked if the wrecker company was “Triple A” because she had called them to come tow the vehicle, and I advised her it was not.

I asked Derek why he did not contact law enforcement as soon as he wrecked, and he said he was “unsure” of what to do. I advised Derek that he had caused significant damage to his vehicle and a power pole, and he needed to contact law enforcement as the wreck happened. Derek reiterated that he was unsure of what he needed to do and did not think about it then.

I advised Derek and his mother to stay seated in their car while I ran Derek’s information on my in-car computer on GCIC. Derek’s license returned as valid, but the vehicle had revoked registration and no valid insurance, per GCIC. GCIC was showing his registration as expired as of 8/15/2024.

I returned to speak to Derek and advised him to explain how the crash happened. Derek stated the following:

Derek stated he was traveling southbound on GA-15 at approximately 12:30 a.m. Derek said he was “fatigued and tired” and fell asleep while driving. Derek said he did not wake up until the vehicle was stopped and had the airbags deployed. Derek stated he was unsure what to do and called his mother via cell phone. Derek noted that his mother advised him that he would come and pick him up, and she called a friend nearby to pick him up. Derek stated he began walking down the sidewalk, and his mother’s friend picked him up shortly after. Derek said they waited for his mother to come and pick him up in the Mountain City area.

I arrested Derek, handcuffed his arms behind his back, and checked the cuffs for fit and double-locked them. I searched Derek incident to his arrest, which revealed no contraband on his person. I secured Derek in the backseat of my patrol car, which I searched and cleared for contraband before transport.

Upon arrival at the detention center, I turned Derek over to the detention staff. After the transport, a back seat search revealed no contraband.

I charged Derek with Hit and Run; Duty of Driver to stop at the scene of the accident, Failure to maintain lane, Registration and license requirements, Failure to maintain insurance.

The vehicle inventory sheet was attached to this report in linked files.

[End of Narrative]