Release from the Valdosta Police Department

VALDOSTA – On May 4, 2016 at approximately 9 a.m., Valdosta Police Officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Norman Drive in reference to an accident with injuries.

Two vehicles, a GMC Terrain and a Ford F150, crashed head-on causing the Ford F150 to flip upside down. The driver of the GMC, Anthony Curtis Smith, 32, fled the scene on foot.

Bystanders chased Smith down and walked him back to the accident scene where he was later detained by police.

The Valdosta Fire Department and EMS extracted the driver from the Ford F150. The driver of the Ford F150 was transported to South Georgia Medical Center by EMS with two fractured legs and is in stable but critical condition.

The front seat passenger of the GMC, later identified as Shelby Morton, 22, of Valdosta was initially conscious while on-scene and was transported to South Georgia Medical Center by EMS. However, she later died of complications related to her injuries.

The Valdosta Police Traffic Unit began investigating the accident and determined that Smith, who was traveling southbound on Norman Drive, crossed over the center line into the northbound lane and hit the Ford F150 head-on.

Smith was charged with driving with a suspended license, driving on the wrong side of the road, leaving the scene of an accident and homicide by vehicle. He is currently in the Lowndes County Jail.

“The Valdosta Police Department would like to extend our sympathies to the victims and their families who have suffered from this senseless tragedy. We would also like to thank the brave citizens who jumped into action and detained Anthony Curtis Smith who fled from the accident scene on foot”, said Captain Kari Williams.