Officials in Cherokee County are investigating a hit-and-run crash after a driver struck a school bus head-on, got out of the car and ran away.

The wreck happened on Hightower Road in Ball Ground before 6:30 a.m., according to Cherokee sheriff’s spokesman Jay Baker.

A Honda Accord crossed the center line and collided with the bus, he said.

The bus left the roadway and slid down an embankment, Baker said. The driver of the Honda got out of the car and ran away. The driver has not been found, Baker said.

One student was on board the bus at the time, according to Cherokee school district spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby. Neither the student nor the driver was hurt, she said.

The roadway was closed while authorities were on the scene. Officials reopened the road just before 9 a.m.

In other news: 

The Gainesville Police Department said an officer shot a man who officials say pulled a knife on??emergency responders following a hit-and-run crash Monday evening.

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Yemaya Lyles (right) wipes away tears during a news conference in front of the Rockdale County Public Schools administration building on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. Lyles' son, Antonio, was assaulted by a paraprofessional, who has since been fired and charged with battery. Lyles says her case against the school district has dragged on since then. (Miguel Martinez/AJC 2023)

Credit: Miguel Martinez