Second person charged in crash that killed a 15-year-old

On Wednesday, Cobb County police arrested a Dallas man, Caleb Evan Hasty, and charged him with first-degree vehicular homicide, racing, reckless driving, and speeding. Investigators determined that two drivers were racing at 100 mph in a 45-mph-zone before the crash that killed a teen in the Aug. 26 crash on the East-West Connector.

Hasty is the second driver arrested in this incident. Records show that the first driver was Garrett Tyler Betts of Douglasville. Betts surrendered last month and was booked into the Cobb County jail after being charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, speeding, failure to maintain lane and reckless driving. Hasty’s arrest warrant states, “Said accused drove the Pontiac at 100 mph in a posted 45 mph zone while in a competition of speed with a gray 2001 Ford Mustang GT.”

Betts was driving the Mustang including a 15-year-old passenger, who was sitting in the front seat. The passenger was ejected in the crash and died at the scene. Betts was also seriously injured.

Hasty told investigators he knew the driver of the Mustang and they were heading home after leaving a car meet. His warrant states, “Said accused admitted he was driving in close proximity to the Mustang before it lost control, traveled through the median, and (struck) a tree. While negotiating the right curve of the roadway, the vehicle left the right side of the road onto the grass shoulder. As said accused steered back to the left, the vehicle rotated across the westbound lanes and collided with a tree in the center median.”