Speeding vehicles pose a great danger to pedestrians on busy roads, especially those who work around traffic to help others cross and navigate the roads safely. Car accidents and hit-and-runs have caused countless injuries and deaths for Georgia pedestrians. The laws and criminal charges against drivers who injure pedestrians and bicyclists are steep, since pedestrians have so little defense against vehicles barreling in their direction.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reported an elementary school crossing guard has narrowly avoided serious injury, but was nonetheless treated at the hospital for a broken ankle, as a 20-year-old Woodstock man allegedly struck him in a hit and run accident. Ironically, the driver was running late for his drug court graduation when he clipped the 6-year veteran crossing guard near Liberty Elementary School.
Detectives had the vehicle description to go on when searching for the driver, along with a large white “T” sticker of the Tennessee Volunteers on the back window. When authorities found the car, the front bumper had been removed and the “T” sticker scraped off the back window. It can be assumed the man had been trying to cover up the accident.
The driver was charged with felony hit and run and is being held on $15,000 bond at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center. Since medical expenses can add up even for a minor injury, the man who was hit would have the right to seek compensation if he desired. Pedestrians have the right to pursue litigation when they’re injured by a drunk or negligent driver.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ” Man, 20, arrested in Cherokee crossing guard hit-and-run,” Fran Jeffries, Mar. 20, 2013
