Ernest Maxwell was riding his bike Saturday morning along on Clay Road in Austell when an SUV hit him from behind, killing him, and then drove away.
Brian Rolle has now been charged with Maxwell’s death.
Maxwell’s brother, Gary Maxwell, said, “I forgive him, but he took my brother away from me. I loved my brother.”
“He shouldn’t have never hit the boy and drove away like that. That’s all I’m saying,” said Maxwell’s father, Ernest E. Maxwell.
Detectives said they didn’t have to look far to find the suspect.
“A little after 5 p.m. Brian Rolle came to Cobb Police Precinct 2 in his 2002 silver Chevorlet Trailblazer and he wanted to file a report to his vehicle for damage caused by striking a deer or some other object,” Joe Hernandez with Cobb County Police said.
Regardless of Rolle’s reasons for contacting police, investigators determined the damage was consistent with damage cause by the hit-and-run. They arrested Rolle, 37, who is from Powder Springs, for felony hit-and-run, vehicular homicide and having an expired tag.
Family members said Maxwell was doing his daily routine when he was killed.
“He was going to see a friend in Mableton. He rides his bicycle and walks every day for exercise. He never did anything to anybody. He didnt deserve that. He didn’t deserve to go like that,” Gary Maxwell said.
