Driver in 2020 central Lubbock fatal hit and run crash pleads guilty

A 31-year-old man who was arrested in Michigan after fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run wreck three years ago in Central Lubbock faces five years to life in prison after pleading guilty Monday in court.

Benjamin Mitchell, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since Oct. 13, 2020, appeared in the 137th District Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to stop and render aid involving a death.

He also faces two counts of manslaughter that will remain pending, according to prosecutors.

However, Mitchell's plea did not a result from a deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office and his punishment will be determined by 137th District Judge John McClendon during a May 1 punishment bench trial.

The offense of failure to stop and render aid is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two two 20 years in prison. However, a conviction for a 2013 sexual assault of a child charge enhances his punishment to five years to life in prison.

Mitchell also admitted to using his vehicle as a deadly weapon, which aggravates the offense against him, and he will have to serve half of whatever sentence the judge hands down before he can apply for parole.

Mitchell's charges stem from a Lubbock police investigation of a fatal crash Sept. 15, 2020 in the 4600 block of Avenue Q where responding officers found the bodies of two people and their wrecked motorcycle.

Mitchell admitted to driving a Buick Lacrosse southbound when he struck 40-year-old Anthony Childers and 31-year-old Barbara Matthews of Hobbs, New Mexico, who were on a motorcycle in front of him. Mitchell fled the scene without offering assistance or calling 911.

Childers and Matthews died at the scene.

According to an arrest warrant, the crash was caught on video by security cameras from nearby businesses. The footage showed the motorcycle traveled east on 46th Street, approaching the intersection at Avenue Q.

Meanwhile, video from another business showed the Buick speeding down Avenue Q.

The motorcycle could be seen yielding right of way to an oncoming vehicle before entering the intersection and turning south on Avenue Q. Shortly after, the Buick struck the back of the motorcycle, causing a large dust cloud to erupt.

The Buick could be seen fishtailing slightly before regaining control and speeding away.

The crash disintegrated the motorcycle and its parts were scattered all over the crash site, the warrant states.

A witness who was riding a hired vehicle said he saw the Buick pass by them as it sped south on Avenue Q. He said his driver commented, “that person is going to kill someone,” the warrant states.

Moments later, he saw a dust cloud erupt ahead of them and saw Childers and Matthews’ bodies on the road, the warrant states.

A caller told Lubbock police that a vehicle possibly involved in the wreck was parked behind duplexes in the 2100 block of 50th Street. An officer found the vehicle in an alley behind one of the duplexes.

Mitchell was identified as the driver after the Buick’s owners called the police to report it stolen.

One of the owners told detectives she believed Mitchell, her sister's boyfriend whom she knew by the name "Benzo," was the last person driving the vehicle, the warrant states.

She described Mitchell as controlling and was the reason she and her sister are estranged, the warrant states.

Another person described "Benzo" as a fast driver and "is not the most upstanding citizen." He said Benzo was the driver of a black Tahoe that led police on a chase two months before, the warrant states.

A search of the Buick yielded letters addressed to Mitchell and documents that listed his prisoner number.

Two days after the crash, Lubbock police sought the public’s help to find Mitchell, who was flagged for a parole violation in connection with a 2013 sexual assault of a child conviction.

Court records show he was released on parole in June 2019 after serving about four years of his eight-year sentence.

A tipster called Lubbock police saying Mitchell was in the Port Huron, Michigan area. In October 2020 members of the St. Clair County Drug Task Force found the vehicle Mitchell reportedly drove from Texas and arrested him as he got out of the vehicle, according to a news release from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s office.

Deputies found methamphetamine on Mitchell. He faces charges of possession with intent to deliver crystal methamphetamine, bringing contraband into a jail, maintaining a drug house, driving with no license and being a habitual offender, according to the release.

According to the warrant, Mitchell reportedly admitted during an interview with St. Clair County sheriffs detectives that he drove the Buick that killed Childers and Matthews.

Court records show he was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on Oct. 13, 2020.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Benjamin Mitchell admits to 2020 fatal hit and run crash in Lubbock