Friend: Budget rental truck driver ran over man’s body, kept going

Derek Adams was killed Dec. 30 after a truck driver ran over him and his bike.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Derek Adams was killed Dec. 30 after a truck driver ran over him and his bike.

David Saintiague cradled his friend, Derek Adams, in his arms until he took his last breath.

It was all Saintiague could do after seeing a Budget rental truck driver hit and kill his friend — and keep going.

“You can’t leave somebody in that situation like that by themselves,” Saintiague told Channel 2 Action News.

The friends were headed to a bar Dec. 30 when the truck slammed into Adams’ motorcycle, driving over his body and the bike, a DeKalb County police traffic report states.

Saintiague told Channel 2 there were a lot of sparks during the crash and all he could see was the driver speeding away after apparently running over the body.

Adams, 27, was motionless in the intersection of North Decatur Road and Warren Avenue. About 10:15 p.m., police said he “was beyond medical treatment.”

“I was trying to process everything going on,” Saintiague said. “(I was) in shock, trying to call 911 and call his name to get him to respond.”

No arrests have been made.

The rental company has been cooperative with the investigation, Channel 2 reported.

“To know he was in the street grasping for his last breath, it really hurts,” Saintiague said.

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