FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Hapeville Police Department officer was arrested Thursday after hitting and killing a man in her patrol car almost a year ago.
According to a arrest warrants, 33-year-old Hapeville Officer Shada Canzater was taken into custody on homicide by vehicle in the second degree and failure to yield the right of way at a crosswalk.
It happened on August 10, 2023. The warrant reads that a sergeant with the Atlanta Police Department arrived at the intersection of MLK Jr. Drive and Central Avenue after reports that someone had been hit by a car.
When they arrived, it said Canzater was on duty in a marked patrol car when it happened. The APD sergeant wrote that a Hapeville officer was driving northbound on Central Avenue heading to the Fulton County Courthouse.
She stopped at a traffic light before turning left on MLK Jr. Drive. Police said she was about the second car in line to make the turn. As the light went green, reports said the first car turned, and then Donell Holiday can be seen on video walking south, crossing MLK Jr. Drive. He was about 2 to 3 feet outside of the crosswalk and had crossed two lanes of traffic when the affidavit said that he was hit.
Holiday reportedly waved his hands for the car to stop before the left front headlight hit him. He was lifted a few feet in the air, lading, hitting his head on the pavement. Reports said he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery on his brain.
Court documents said Holiday died on March 8 of this year.
No information has been released about the case from either Atlanta or the Hapeville Police Department. It's also unknown if Canzater was fired from her position.
