Trigger Warning: The article contains details about drug abuse and death. Reader discretion is advised.
A driver struck 7-year-old Logan Sharpe, a Black child, in Georgia on May 7, 2024. It wasn’t until Logan’s family began sharing their story on social media that the accused, Dalton Cason, was identified and charged. Reportedly, the 26-year-old white man was heavily drugged under the influence of fentanyl and cocaine, according to a toxicology report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in October.
Nine months after the fatal incident and three months after toxicology results were finalized, Sharpe was charged with a misdemeanour DUI (driving under the influence). Despite the request, Pierce County prosecutors have declined to pursue vehicular homicide charges against Logan Sharpe, which is typically the standard charge applied under state law for any impaired driver during a fatal crash.
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As per The Atlanta Black Star, Logan’s mother, Shaunte Sharpe, described the decision as a “slap on her face. She further added, “They have the evidence and everything they need to charge Dalton with vehicular homicide, but they won’t do it.
Logan Sharpe died after he was hit by a pickup truck in May 2024 while playing outside in his Patterson, Georgia, neighbourhood.
Witnesses say Cason drove onto the sidewalk and hit the child with such force that his body was tossed into the street. Yet, an official report from Georgia State Trooper Chase Middleton claimed otherwise, stating Logan had been on the road at the time of impact.
Multiple people have dismissed Chase Middleton’s claim through signed statements. One elderly Black man, who had been sitting on his porch during the incident, said Logan was on the sidewalk when he was struck. Another eyewitness quoted Logan’s brother, who was screaming, “He came on the sidewalk and hit my brother!”
Alas, Georgia State Trooper Chase Middleton’s report did not contain any of the information mentioned above. Middleton blamed the child for the death, and surprisingly, Middleton’s wife is listed as a Facebook friend of the accused, Dalton Cason. Meanwhile, police authorities never searched Cason at the scene, who has a prior drug arrest from 2022, as per the outlet.
The family also claims Middleton turned off his body camera and allowed Cason’s relatives to remove items from the vehicle before it was properly searched. As per the deceased family member, Cason had already moved his truck before law enforcement arrived, and authorities asked him to submit a blood sample, which later tested positive for cocaine, fentanyl, and a cocaine metabolite.
Still, no one pressed charges until there was public pressure, which was started online by Amaka Imamu, founder of the Journey Black Foundation. The family was informed about the October toxicology reports in December, and finally, Cason was arrested on February 2, 2025.
Dalton Cason was high on fentanyl and cocaine when he hit and killed 7-year-old Logan Sharpe.
It took 9 months and public pressure for him to even face a misdemeanor DUI — and still no vehicular homicide charge.https://t.co/2Xj55AeZJr
— Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) May 29, 2025
Reportedly, when Logan was hit while playing outside, his elder brother rushed to inform his mother as soon as he got hit. Speaking to The Atlanta Black Star, Shaunte said she rushed outside to find her son lying face-down in the street with visible injuries and no pulse.
“I touched his neck, and there was nothing. My heart shattered,” she recalled. She later confronted Cason, who stood silently nearby. “I said, ‘At least acknowledge me. Say something.’ But he didn’t even look at me.” Alas, several cases like these happen every year in America and justice as usual remains due.
Cason’s toxicology samples were submitted on May 28, 2024, and the report came five months later. Still, as per the outlet, evidence can be destroyed after one year, which means the family fears key evidence may soon vanish.
Journey Black Foundation’s founder, Amaka Imamu, has stood rock solid beside Logan’s family to fight for justice. He said the same thing about the evidence: “They’re going to discard it after May 28,” Imamu warned. “And that could allow him to walk away with zero accountability.”
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The grieving family is now raising funds via GoFundMe to hire a lawyer. Cason’s trial is scheduled for June 19 before a judge, not a jury. Logan’s mother, who’s in deep agony, said she wants Cason held accountable since he clearly knows what he did wrong.
Perhaps it’s stories like these that explain why black people participate in mass rallies and shout ‘black lives matter‘ from time to time. It’s a shame that too many innocent black lives have been lost and not much has been done about it.
We all believe that since we are living in a world of technology and advanced theories, we expect a better judiciary system to serve justice to people who have done wrong, but has time really changed the system, or do gender, color and money still play a big role in deciding who’s right and wrong?
Are things only shiny and modern from the outside and as shallow as they can be from within? Perhaps we’ll never fully know, but all we can do is ask the right questions and stand up for the right, not what is convenient for people.
