A 33-year-old Florida man has been charged in the fatal hit-and-run that killed a 10-year-old girl and critically injured her brother while they rode an electric bike. Arick Metayer was charged with one count each of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury, and tampering with physical evidence. The incident occurred on September 9 at 8:53 p.m. on Northwest 7th Avenue in Miami-Dade County, where Metayer allegedly struck the children while turning left onto Northwest 117th Street.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Metayer failed to yield the right-of-way, causing the children to collide with his silver 2012 Nissan Versa. Both were ejected from their bike and landed on the roadway. Instead of stopping, Metayer fled the scene without rendering aid. Surveillance footage later captured him inspecting damage to the passenger-side of his vehicle at Northwest 8th Avenue before driving away.
The children were rushed to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. Peyton Williams, the 10-year-old, was pronounced dead the following morning. Detectives traced the Versa to Metayer’s home, where they found evidence of tampering: both passenger-side doors and the passenger-side mirror had been replaced with parts of a different color. The original damaged components were missing, and DNA recovered from the car matched Peyton’s.
Cellphone records revealed Metayer was at a U-Pull-It auto salvage yard the morning after the crash. Surveillance footage showed him and a companion selecting and purchasing replacement doors. The companion later told police he helped Metayer haul the parts to his home and that Metayer admitted to being involved in a crash.
Later that evening, while the companion was at work, co-workers informed him that a fatal hit-and-run crash had occurred in the same area where Metayer had previously stated he was involved in a crash. The companion subsequently contacted Metayer by cellular telephone and told him, in substance, [“]People are talking about you. That little girl died that you hit.[“] According to the companion, Metayer responded, [“]I know. I[‘]m going to hire an attorney.[“] The companion also advised detectives that members of the community were seeking to kill Metayer in retaliation for the crash.
Metayer’s attorney, Albert Quirantes, arranged for his client’s surrender on September 28. He is currently held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $165,000 bond. Court records do not specify when he will appear for his next hearing.
