Matt Dean, 18, is charged in McDuffie County with murder in the killings of his mother and father, David Dean, 40, and Terri Dean, 35, according to McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall. The couple died in the kitchen of their Twin Pine Road home at about 8 p.m. Friday, he said.

McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall describes the capture of Matt Dean in Daytona Beach, Fla. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Mr. Dean's legs were broken in the wreck Saturday, and he was taken to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, authorities said.

The driver of the other vehicle was killed in the wreck, but Sheriff Marshall had no other information on the accident. He said Mr. Dean was driving a red 2000 Ford Taurus - the car he had reportedly last been seen in.

The crash occurred about 5:30 p.m. on State Route 3 in Brevard County a few miles north of the space shuttle launch area on Kennedy Space Center property, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

Mr. Dean was traveling south in the Taurus when he collided with a pickup truck, sheriff's officials said. Both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles. Mr. Dean was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center. The pickup truck driver died at the scene, police said. Officials were waiting for the man's next of kin to be notified before releasing his name. Police said heavy rains might have contributed to the crash and were hampering the investigation.

Mr. Dean was in surgery Saturday evening, according to a hospital physician. Operating room personnel said Mr. Dean was alert and responsive before the surgery.

About 6:30 p.m., investigators with the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were contacted by the Daytona Police Department about the accident. They had not determined which driver was at fault.

''He'll be in the hospital. I'm not sure how long,'' Sheriff Marshall said. ''And I'm sure they'll have charges on him there.''

Mr. Dean also will be charged with aggravated assault for an attack on his 14-year-old sister, Bethany Dean, Sheriff Marshall said. He is in the custody of Florida authorities until he can be extradited to Georgia.

Matt Dean, 18, faces murder charges in McDuffie County. SPECIAL

''Since he's in that jurisdiction, he'll have to waive extradition to come back to Georgia. If he doesn't waive extradition, we'll go through the governor's office and bring him back,'' Sheriff Marshall said.

Bethany escaped the home Friday night and ran to a neighbor's house for help. She is being treated at Medical College of Georgia Hospital, but hospital officials refused to release information on her condition.

On Saturday, those who knew the family said they were shocked, but warning signs were there.

''I can remember just a year or so ago where my son had been concerned about how he was seeing a change in (Matt),'' said Regina Daniel, a Thomson resident who was once a neighbor to the Dean family and whose son Justin played on the Thomson High School baseball team with him.

''It wasn't just him, though,'' she said. ''Several of the kids had made reference to that. In their minds, he was kind of like a ticking time bomb.''

But until a year ago, Mrs. Daniel said, Mr. Dean was a courteous and kind friend to her son. She said the problem began when Mr. Dean began hanging around a different group of teens.

She said Mr. Dean would sometimes complain to her son about problems he was having with his parents, but that lately things had seemed to get better.

''My son said when they were playing basketball just this past Thursday night, it was more like the old Matt that they knew,'' she said. ''That's why we just don't understand.''

Mrs. Daniel said the brutal deaths kept her awake Friday night.

''It's a small town here, and this has pretty well rocked our community.''

This is not, however, the first time an area teen has been charged in the death of his parents.

On Feb. 5, 1987, 15-year-old Eric Poole shot and killed his father, stepmother and 6-year-old half sister. Police found the bodies two days later inside the family's mobile home on Sand Hill Road.

The next day, police caught Mr. Poole about 55 miles west of Thomson in Covington, Ga., when he ran a red light while driving the family's car.

On the day of the killings, Mr. Poole was suspended from school for 10 days for truancy. He came home from school and shot his sleeping stepmother three times in the head. He later shot his half sister and father with the same rifle when they came home.

He was sentenced to three life terms in prison and an additional 20 years on a related armed robbery charge. Mr. Poole, who is now 30, is at Central State Prison in Macon. He will be eligible for parole in a few years.

The Toombs Judicial Circuit judge at the trial called the case the ''saddest thing that has ever happened'' in the area during his time on the bench.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 110, or prestonsparks@newstimesonline.com.