COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — The trial of a College Park man accused of killing three people in a crash in 2016 has reached a verdict.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was in the Fulton County courtroom on Thursday evening when the jury announced they had found Diontre Tigner guilty on all counts, including felony murder and other traffic charges.
Tigner was 16 years old at the time of the crash on Jan. 31, 2016. He’s now 24.
The jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching a guilty verdict just after 6 p.m.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Police say Tigner carjacked a female limo driver at 9 a.m. that day in front of The Westin Hotel in College Park. They say he led police on a high-speed chase through several residential neighborhoods before he crashed into the family’s car.
Joi Partridge was one of the state’s best witnesses. She’s the daughter of the victim, driver Dorothy Wright, and the mother of the two children who died, 12-year-old Cameron and 6-year-old Layla.
RELATED STORIES:
- Driver accused of killing grandmother, 2 children went on the run for 6 years. He’s now on trial
- Family of grandmother, grandchildren killed in hit-and-run “insulted” by suspect’s request
- Dash cam video shows chase that killed woman, 2 grandchildren
- Arrest made in 2016 car chase crash that killed grandmother, 2 children
- Family of woman, grandchildren killed in chase file lawsuit against city
“She would take them to church every Sunday, as she was doing on that Sunday morning,” said Partridge.
She told the jury how close she was to her mom, Dorothy Wright, and how much her mom would help watch her kids while Joi had to work.
Somehow Tigner was the only survivor of the crash, and he got away from the scene. He was on the run for six years before College Park police arrested him and charged him with six counts of felony murder and three counts of hit and run.
Tigner is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2023 Cox Media Group
