Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney

Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit

Sherry Boston, District Attorney

GRAND JURY INDICTS MAN FOR HIT AND RUN CRASH THAT INJURED YOUNG GIRLS PLAYING IN FRONT YARD

Home More News GRAND JURY INDICTS MAN FOR HIT AND RUN CRASH THAT INJURED YOUNG GIRLS PLAYING IN FRONT YARD

State v. Gabriel Fordham

Decatur, Ga.- A DeKalb County Grand Jury has indicted the driver accused in the hit and run crash that injured two young girls playing in a Lithonia yard. 29- year-old Gabriel Jabri Fordham is charged with Serious Injury by Vehicle (felony), Hit and Run Resulting in Serious Injury or Death (felony), Hit and Run (misdemeanor), Reckless Driving (misdemeanor), Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign (misdemeanor),  and Failure to Maintain Lane (misdemeanor) in the six count indictment returned on Tuesday.


The incident happened on March 29, 2019. According to the investigation, Fordham was allegedly driving recklessly at a high rate of speed as he traveled along Cherokee Valley Drive in Lithonia. The car went airborne as the driver attempted to negotiate a turn at the intersection of Cherokee Valley Circle. The car crash-landed into the front yard of a home in the 2200 block of Cherokee Valley Circle striking 9-year-old LaDerihanna Holmes as she played with a friend. The driver crawled out of the car and fled the scene without rendering aid or providing identification. Young LaDerihanna was transported to the hospital by her father. She sustained a fractured skull and a broken pelvis. Her friend, 11-year-old Alayshia Phillips, suffered minor cuts and bruises.

The incident was captured on home surveillance video and broadcast extensively. Fordham surrendered to authorities at the DeKalb County Jail three days later without incident.

Following indictment, the case will be scheduled for arraignment and set for trial. Fordham remains jailed without bond.