Authorities have identified 36-year-old Zachariah Nathaniel Byrd as the victim in a fatal hit-and-run collision on the Westside Parkway near the Mohawk Avenue overpass on May 4.
The suspected driver, 51-year-old Tomice Lee Fryman Jr., turned himself in to police more than nine hours after the incident. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder and hit-and-run causing death.
Court records show Fryman has two prior DUI convictions involving injury, the latest in 2021. His attorney stated Fryman was not under the influence during the crash but was speeding — potentially over 90 mph — and fled the scene in a panic before later reporting to authorities.
Byrd, who died at the scene, had a prior criminal record including a 2008 conviction for unlawful sex with a minor. Investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
