Inset: Arick Metayer (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Background: The area in Miami where Metayer allegedly killed a 10-year-old in a fatal hit-and-run (Google Maps).
A 33-year-old man in Florida is accused of killing a 10-year-old girl and critically injuring her teenage brother, allegedly crashing into them as they rode an electric bike, then fleeing and swapping out his damaged car doors and mirror.
Arick Metayer was taken into custody and 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 in connection with the death of Peyton Williams, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Metayer was driving a silver 2012 Nissan Versa north on Northwest 7th Avenue in Miami-Dade County at 8:53 p.m. on Sept. 9 when he began a left turn onto Northwest 117th Street. Peyton and her brother were heading south and had started across the intersection when Metayer “turned directly into the path of the victims.”
“The defendant failed to yield the right-of-way to the victims, causing them to strike the passenger-side front and rear doors of the defendant”s Nissan Versa,” the affidavit says. “As a result of the collision, both victims were ejected from the [electric bike] and vaulted onto the roadway. Immediately following the crash, the defendant fled the scene west on NW 117 Street without stopping to render aid.”
Surveillance video from a nearby residence captured the Versa stopped at Northwest 8th Avenue, where the driver got out, walked around the car to look at the passenger-side damage, then got back in and drove south.
Both children were taken to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. Peyton was pronounced dead the following morning.
Detectives traced the Versa to Metayer’s home, where they allegedly found the car involved in the crash.
“Investigators discovered that both passenger-side doors and the passenger-side mirror had been replaced with parts that were a different color,” the affidavit states. “The original crash-damaged passenger-side doors and mirror were no longer present with the vehicle and have not been recovered.”
Investigators allegedly recovered DNA from the exterior of the vehicle that came back as a match for Peyton.
Metayer’s cellphone records showed the device at a U-Pull-It, a self-service auto salvage yard, the morning after the crash. A few hours later, police say, he boarded a Brightline train from Miami to Orlando.
Surveillance footage from the salvage yard allegedly shows Metayer and a companion selecting and buying a passenger-side front door and rear door.
Detectives tracked down that companion, who told investigators he met Metayer at the U-Pull-It on Sept. 10 to help haul the doors to his home. The witness said he noticed the damage to the Versa, asked what happened, and Metayer “admitted he had been involved in a crash.”
The witness said he later learned more details about the crash and the aftermath. From the affidavit:
Later that evening, while the witness was at work, co-workers informed him that a fatal hit-and-run crash had occurred in the same area where the defendant had previously stated he was involved in a crash. The witness subsequently contacted the defendant by cellular telephone and told him, in substance, [“]People are talking about you. That little girl died that you hit.[“] According to the witness, the defendant responded, [“]I know. I[‘]m going to hire an attorney.[“] The witness further advised the defendant and these detectives that members of the community were seeking to kill the defendant in retaliation for the crash.
Metayer’s attorney, Albert Quirantes, arranged for his client to turn himself in on Sept. 28. He is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $165,000 bond, records show. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court.
