COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — It has been a mystery for six long years: Where was the driver who police say caused a crash that killed a grandmother and her two grandkids as they drove to church?
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It is a mystery no more. College Park Police said they made an arrest. The family said technology is what helped get Diontre Tigner in custody. Joi Partridge recalls when she got the call about Tigner’s arrest.
“I was like ecstatic. I was like my gosh. Really,” she said.
Her mother, Dorothy Wright, 75, and her two kids, Cameron, 12, and Layla, 6, were killed in a violent crash in January 2016. The driver who police say caused the crash had been on the run for six long years.
“The good part about it is we have a name and a person,” said husband and father, Douglas Partridge.
Police said Tigner was the driver who led them on a high-speed chase into Atlanta. Officers said Tigner crashed into Wright at South Gordon and Rogers Avenue that Sunday morning. Wright and her grandkids were killed.
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Douglas Partridge said his family is still trying to get over their loss.
“We are still tortured every day by his carelessness. His ruthlessness,” he said.
Police said the suspect took off running from the scene and hadn’t been seen until now. The Partridge’s and their immediate family got word just before Christmas that police arrested Tigner.
Wright’s niece, Dr. LaTaucha Harris, said it was the best news ever.
“I said, ‘Joi, this is the best Christmas present ever,’” she said.
The family said they were told by authorities Tigner was in another high-speed chase. They said when officers captured him, they checked his DNA.
“And they matched the DNA that was in the truck that he stole,” Joi Partridge said.
The family said it’s sad someone suspected of killing their family in a chase was involved in another chase.
“I’m just glad that he is off the streets,” Joi Partridge said.
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The family said police told them Tigner told officers he had been haunted by the deadly crash the entire six years he was on the run. Police would not confirm how they managed to capture Tigner. He faces numerous charges, including felony murder and hit-and-run. He is being held at the Fulton County Jail.
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