Bibb deputy arrested, fired in connection to hit-and-run investigation

Deputies responded just before 5 a.m. August 3 to a crash on the I-475 southbound exit ramp near Zebulon Road.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been arrested and fired after investigators determined he was involved in a hit-and-run crash earlier this month, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies responded just before 5 a.m. August 3 to a crash on the I-475 southbound exit ramp near Zebulon Road. A passenger vehicle struck the back of a tractor-trailer that was parked on the side of the ramp, the sheriff’s office said. The driver then fled the scene on foot.

Deputies traced the vehicle to 38-year-old Manuel Antonio Newton, who initially told investigators the car had been stolen in Monroe County. Newton was later identified as a Bibb County patrol deputy who was on leave for an on-duty injury.

On August 21, investigators made further contact with Newton. The sheriff’s office said Newton admitted he was the driver during the crash.

Newton was arrested and charged with hit and run and false report of a crime. He was booked into the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center and released on a $2,600 bond.

The sheriff’s office said Newton’s employment has since been terminated.