Athens-Clark County police are on the hunt for a woman investigators allege veered off the road and fatally struck a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk Wednesday afternoon in northern Athens.
Amanda Gerrett, a 31-year-old Athens woman, is facing charges of first-degree vehicular homicide, felony hit and run and failure to maintain lane in connection with the incident, according to police who obtained arrest warrants.
The crash happened about 3:45 p.m. at the intersection of North and Strickland avenues, department spokesman Lt. Shaun Barnett said in a news release from the Athens-Clark Police Department. Officers arrived and found a man dead from the impact of a hit and run.
Investigators say the victim was walking northbound on the sidewalk when Gerrett approached from behind on North Avenue and exited the roadway. She drove up on the sidewalk and struck the man as he was walking then drove away from the scene, police said.
Credit: Athens-Clarke Police Department
Credit: Athens-Clarke Police Department
Athens-Clarke police didn’t identify the deceased or provide a description of the vehicle Gerrett’s alleged to have been driving at the time. Authorities also didn’t say if the crash was an accident or if Gerrett appeared to ram into the victim intentionally.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911, or contact Senior Police Office Joey Lewis at 762-400-7169 or via email at joey.lewis@accgov.com.
The incident is not the only recent hit and run case that’s resulted in a pedestrian being killed. Gwinnett County police say a Lilburn man intentionally struck and killed his 41-year-old brother-in-law during a Christmas party in unincorporated Lawrenceville early Saturday morning.
Investigators say the two men had a physical fight moments before Ernesto Pelayo struck the victim, Juan Davila, with a pickup truck and sped away from the scene, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Pelayo was arrested Tuesday and now faces felony murder and aggravated assault charges in connection with the fatality.
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