Police: No charges in pedestrian death

By Alexis Stevens and Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Police determined a driver was not at fault when he struck and killed a pedestrian on a seven-lane Gwinnett County highway.

On Sunday, Gwinnett County Police identified the victim as Emilia Ortiz.

The 53-year-old woman was struck Saturday night as she was crossing Peachtree Parkway, just north of Holcomb Bridge Road, police spokesman Cpl. Edwin Ritter said Sunday.

Officers were called to the seven-lane highway in the unincorporated section of Gwinnett near Norcross around 6:30 p.m. for a report of a woman trying to cross during heavy traffic, police said. The woman was not in a crosswalk and the area was extremely dark, Ritter said.

Ortiz was struck by a northbound 1996 Mercedes Benz. She was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

Police did not identify the Mercedes driver, but said he was not injured.

Police investigated the crash and determined that the driver had the right of way.

"It does not appear that alcohol or speed contributed to the collision," Ritter said in a statement. "There are no criminal charges pending against the driver."

Jason and Christy Skinner of Duluth said they were heading southbound on Peachtree Parkway when they saw a person lying in the road on the other side of the grass median.

"She was bleeding pretty bad, and had been for a while," Jason Skinner said.

Other motorists had already stopped to help, he said. The Skinners called police and were told several other callers had also reported the accident.

The woman may be have been heading to a nearby bus stop.

"There are always people trying to cross the road right there," Jason Skinner said.