Man charged in deadly street race has bond revoked after he appears to be driving in YouTube videos

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
3

A man charged in a deadly street race was released on bond earlier this year. Now, he’s back in the Fulton County Jail.

Quentavious Parks is accused of causing Zo’Antae Pharard Cuffee’s death while going 134 miles per hour during an illegal street race in 2020, according to Georgia State Patrol. While he was out on bond for that crime, he was accused of driving 101 miles per hour on a city street.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne was in a Fulton County courtroom on Friday morning when Parks and his attorney, Eli Bennett, appeared for a hearing.

Winne spoke with Bennett about if Parks’ case speaks to a larger issue, regardless of guilt or innocence.

“Social media, teenagers and fast cars are a bad combination,” Bennett said. Parks is in his 20s, but Bennett said the principle applies to all young people.

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Bennett identified parks as a “very popular YouTube content creator” and says he appears in several videos on YouTube.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is alleging that Parks was street racing when he caused Cuffee’s death.

“He’s devastated. He and the victim in this case were friends since middle school. They were almost like brothers,” Bennett described.

A December 2020 bond order listed Parks’ total bond of $62,000 and included conditions like wearing an ankle monitor, curfew and not driving.

Earlier this year, an Atlanta police report indicated that an investigator was advised that there was a video uploaded to Parks’ YouTube account that appears to show him driving.

The report indicates that the investigator said Parks’ vehicle is seen on several cameras driving recklessly on city streets.

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An April 9 report obtained by Channel 2 Action News shows that Parks was taken back to jail on several misdemeanor charges. Another bond order lists his total bond at $21,000 and a condition of no driving.

Another YouTube video appears to show Parks driving once again.

Court records show that on May 30, Judge Shukura Ingram, who was not the judge on the two other bond orders, revoked his bond.

“I hereby find that the defendant violated the terms and conditions of the bond entered on December 22, 2020, by driving and violating curfew,” the order read.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Friday that read,”

“We see over and over again how street racing leads to tragic outcomes, including deaths. My office will continue to work with the Fulton County Solicitor and police departments across Fulton County to hold accountable those who recklessly endanger lives on our roadways. We are grateful that Judge Ingram recognized the seriousness of the situation and revoked the defendant’s bond.”

Bennett says the evidence that Parks was driving while on bond appears to be the key reason the judge revoked his bond.

“We’re still analyzing the evidence to determine whether they can indeed prove beyond a reasonable doubt the speeds that they’ve alleged and who exactly was at fault for the accident,” Bennett said.

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Parks has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges filed in state court.