Mount Airy police have announced an arrest in an incident at the city schools' headquarters, where a...

Mount Airy police have announced an arrest in an incident at the city schools' headquarters, where a driver caused heavy damage and then fled. Payton Blackburn Parker, 32, of 117 Old Gold Lane, is charged with hit and run and leaving the scene involving property damage after a crash during the early morning hours of Oct. 4.

It happened at the Mount Airy City Schools headquarters at 351 Riverside Drive, where video footage shows a 2003 vehicle heading down an embankment next to the parking lot, then crashing into a parked Dodge Caravan and pushing it into a Chevrolet Impala beside it before continuing on and exiting the lot. Damages to the van were put at $8,000, with the Impala receiving $4,000 in damage, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports.

School officials appealed to the community for information, including posting a description of the suspect vehicle on social media and urging anyone who could help to contact city police. Parker was arrested, though police records do not specify how he came to be identified as the suspect. He was released under a $1,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on Nov. 9. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Source note: Star News TV · Oct 29, 2026 9:21 PM.