January 6th, 2022
Floyd County Police Department –
A Rome man has been arrested for the hit-and-run fatality of a local mother in Armuchee this week. The police department is grateful to the community for the outpouring of support and information.
Edward Junior Lawrence (39) has been charged with felony homicide by vehicle, felony leaving the scene of an accident, and improper lane change. He was booked Friday at the Floyd County Jail.
The crash occurred when Lawrence, who was driving a 2008 Lincoln Town Car, was traveling south in the right lane of Martha Berry Highway and Hilda Santizo-Perez was traveling south in the left lane. Lawrence then made an improper lane change into the right lane causing Santizo-Perez to lose control of her vehicle. The 2006 Nissan Altima, which was driven by Santizo-Perez (37), then veered across the northbound lanes.
The Altima was then struck by a 2020 Toyota 4-Runner which was traveling north. The 4-Runner,
which was being driven by Charcia Baldwin, struck the Altima on the passenger side.
Santizo-Perez died as a result of the injuries she sustained in the crash. Her three-year-old child
suffered only minor injuries. Both the child and Baldwin were transported to a local hospital for
treatment.
The police department would like to thank our citizens for a large number of tips and calls related to
this incident. We would also like to thank the dispatchers from Floyd County 911 who received calls and
relayed information to the officers working on this incident. This was a team effort; the investigation was
successfully concluded through the hard work of our Patrol Division, our Criminal Investigations
Division, our H.E.A.T. Unit, and our citizens.