Baby killed in Cherokee County crash was a Florida evacuee

A baby who died Saturday after a crash in Cherokee County was a Florida evacuee. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

A baby who died Saturday after a crash in Cherokee County was a Florida evacuee. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

A baby who died Saturday night after being hit by a teen driver was one of thousands of Floridians who sought refuge in metro Atlanta due to the threat of Irma, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Riley Hunt, 3 months, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was in her mother’s arms when the 17-year-old driver of a Jeep Patriot struck them as they crossed Arnold Mill Road near the Northside Hospital Cherokee Amphitheater, sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Marianne Kelley said.

“They were evacuees from Florida here staying with family and friends,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.

The amphitheater had started its final concert of the season about an hour before authorities were dispatched to the crash at 8:16 p.m. Saturday.

Riley and her mother, 28-year-old Kaitlin Hunt, were taken to a local hospital. Riley died later Saturday. Kaitlin Hunt was in critical condition with “many broken bones and internal injuries,” Kelley said.

Another woman, 61-year-old Kathy Deming of Marietta, was hit and taken to the hospital in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said.

The condition of the teen driver was not known.

No charges have been filed in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Irma was downgraded early Monday from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, but still had winds near hurricane force, according to The Associated Press.

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