Girl, 16, handing out church flyers, was killed by hit and run driver last October
A Fayetteville woman whose vehicle struck and killed a 16-year-old girl in Fayetteville in October has been sentenced to a 15-year prison term.
Marcia Annette Demarcus, 42 at the time of her arrest, pled guilty in Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams’ court to homicide by vehicle in the first degree, hit and run, possession of a Schedule IV drug, reckless driving and possession of drug-related objections, according to District Attorney Ben Coker.
Demarcus was sentenced to 30 years with the first 15 years to be served in prison, said Coker, adding that Demarcus pled guilty to driving while under the influence of clonazepam, cocaine, morphine, and benzolecgonine and striking two people with her vehicle.
Coker said one victim, a 16-year-old girl, Caelyn Olds, was passing out flyers with church members when Demarcus’s vehicle struck and killed her. Another victim, Linda Long, suffered serious injuries after also being struck by the vehicle, Coker added.
Fayetteville Police Department spokesman Mike Whitlow at the time on the incident said it occurred at approximately 9:35 a.m. along Hood Avenue across the street from Fayetteville Elementary School. An elderly woman and the 16-year-old female were walking along Hood Avenue and had apparently been handing out pamphlets for a church when the incident happened, said Whitlow.
The 42-year-old female driving a Mazda pickup truck veered off the roadway and initially sideswiped the older woman and hit the teenager straight on, Whitlow said.
Whitlow said the driver of the vehicle left the scene and was subsequently located by Fayette County sheriff’s deputies and taken into custody.
The teenage girl was transported to Piedmont Fayette Hospital where she died from the injuries she sustained, said Whitlow.
The older woman who was also struck by the vehicle was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.
