Police are hunting a hit-and-run suspect who allegedly abandoned his 11-year-old son in a burning wreck after a fatal Southern California crash that killed two teenage girls.
A $1 million arrest warrant has been issued for Terry Lamar Easter, 50, also known as “Capone,” for his alleged role in the deadly collision in Victorville on August 14. Easter was reportedly behind the wheel of one of two vehicles involved in the high-speed wreck that claimed the lives of best friends Isabell DeLand, 16, and Maddalyn Dailey, 17.
The two vehicles, allegedly a Chevrolet Camaro driven by Easter and a Dodge Charger operated by a second driver, struck the girls’ car with such force that it was sliced in half, killing DeLand and Dailey instantly. While the other driver remained at the scene and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, Easter reportedly fled on foot, leaving his young son trapped in the passenger seat of the wrecked Camaro.
The California Highway Patrol issued an alert describing Easter as 5 feet 6 inches tall with black hair and hazel eyes. “Detectives believe Terry Easter to be armed and dangerous,” the warrant stated.
Two associates of Easter were also initially sought in connection with the fatal accident. Ryan Lewis and his mother, Madge Wells, were listed as wanted, though both have since been apprehended by authorities.
The teenage victims were best friends who attended the same high school and were just a few houses away from their homes when the crash occurred. Maddalyn Dailey had been driving Isabell DeLand home at the time of the collision.
“I heard the garage door close, and within a minute, I heard the impact and I automatically knew,” Dailey’s father told NBC4. “It’s a death trap because there are no signals.”
In the viral moment that has drawn national attention to the case, the sheer brutality of the crash and the suspect’s alleged abandonment of his own child in the burning vehicle have compounded public outrage. The wreck occurred in a residential area lacking traffic signals, a factor Dailey’s father emphasized as contributing to what he characterized as a dangerous roadway environment. The second driver’s decision to remain at the scene and face arrest stood in stark contrast to Easter’s alleged flight, leaving his 11-year-old son to be rescued from the wreckage by emergency responders.
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