A woman had a blood-alcohol level of .219 — almost three times the legal limit — when she drove into a 6-year-old girl who had just gotten off a school bus, then left the scene, prosecutors disclosed this week.
Gloria Kimberly Blevins, 43, is back in the Coweta County jail, this time without bond, after a hearing Monday, according to police. She now faces charges of cruelty to children and serious injury by vehicle in addition to charges such as DUI-less safe and leaving the scene of an accident, prosecutors said.
The girl, “Lulu” Pedrick, returned home after a hospital stay following the October incident in Newnan.
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Pedrick was hit after she left the bus, went to the curb and waited for the bus driver to signal her across the street, authorities said.
After Pedrick began to cross the street, a Hummer 2 came from around a curve, changed lanes into oncoming traffic and passed two stopped cars and the bus, Newnan police said.
Credit: None City of Newnan
Credit: None City of Newnan
The bus driver attempted to warn the child and stop the vehicle but couldn’t get the girl’s attention, and the driver continued past the bus, according to police.
When the child stepped out from the front of the bus to cross the street, the vehicle hit the girl, police said. The driver continued into the neighborhood.
A vehicle matching the description was at a residence in the neighborhood, police said. Officers determined by damage to the vehicle and witness testimony that it was the one that hit the girl, and Blevins was arrested.
Blevins was released from jail on bond soon after she was arrested.
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