Hit-and-run suspect drives through lobby at downtown Atlanta hotel

Officers investigating a hit-and-run crash at a downtown Atlanta hotel Wednesday night were surprised to find that the suspect and his sedan only made it as far as the hotel lobby.

Houston Garner, 32, of Canton, is accused of backing into the glass entry doors of the Sheraton Atlanta and driving his car through the lobby to get away from the pursuing officers, according to Atlanta police.

He was eventually apprehended on an upper floor of the hotel, police spokesman Officer Steve Avery said.

Police were called to the Courtland Street hotel about 11 p.m. after a woman said a black car hit her vehicle in the parking lot and drove off. She sustained minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital, Avery said.

“While officers were still on scene a security guard at the hotel advised officers that the hit-and-run vehicle, a black Volkswagen Passat, had just backed into the hotel doors causing damage,” the spokesman said in a statement.

When the officers tried to speak with the man, later identified as Garner, he took off again, Avery said.

“The driver refused to comply and drove away, eventually driving through the entrance and into the lobby of the hotel,” he said.

Bystander video of the incident uploaded to Instagram showed the Passat slowly pull into the lobby, taking the sliding glass door out of its frame as it passed. It then continued toward the back of the lobby at a crawl as its driver maneuvered around columns and other displays.

The video ends with the vehicle slowly backing into what appeared to be a hallway.

Garner was arrested on charges of hit-and-run, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, criminal damage to property and obstruction. He was taken to the Fulton County Jail for the second time in a month.

Garner was just released from custody Friday after posting an $8,000 surety bond. He faces charges of theft by receiving stolen property, drug and weapon possession, and driving on a suspended or revoked license stemming from a Jan. 23 arrest in Sandy Springs, jail records show.

Bond was denied on his most recent charges.