In the late afternoon of September 2, 2025, a tragic event unfolded in the parking lot of a Family Dollar on Jeffersonville Road in Macon, Georgia, that claimed the life of 56-year-old Regina Darlene Smith. Just after 4:30 p.m., gunshots rang out, leaving Smith and a 79-year-old male companion wounded inside their Nissan Rogue. When Bibb County sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene, they found Smith unresponsive.
She was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound, while the man was transported to a local hospital in critical but stable condition.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to 43-year-old Catrell Tywan Ford as the primary suspect. Authorities believed the motive for the deadly encounter may have been a road rage incident that began with a vehicle accident near the intersection of Ocmulgee East Boulevard and Jeffersonville Road. Following the shooting, Ford fled the scene, prompting a widespread search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Jones County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia State Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce.
Later that evening, around 9:44 p.m., deputies located Ford at a convenience store on Spring Street and Riverside Drive. A foot pursuit ensued, with Ford fleeing into a wooded area. The chase ended in a shootout between Ford and the deputies. During the exchange of gunfire, Ford was fatally wounded and later died at a hospital. No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the officer-involved shooting. Further investigation revealed that Ford had a criminal history, including a conviction for voluntary manslaughter two decades prior.
