An Atlanta man is behind bars after running over and killing a woman Saturday morning and then leaving the scene, police said.
Officers responded to the pedestrian crash on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta just before 6:30 a.m., Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee said.
“Upon arrival, officers located a female who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and was deceased on scene,” he said.
Witnesses told police the woman was crossing the street near Myrtle Drive when she was struck by a Chevrolet Tahoe that did not stop, authorities said.
Finis Rankin told Channel 2 Action News he was waiting for the bus when he heard a loud crash that sent the woman flying through the air.
“She flipped over twice and then hit the ground,” Rankin said, adding that the driver who hit her continued down the street.
As police collected evidence, the driver of the Tahoe, identified as 72-year-old Benjamin Sims, walked back to the scene and spoke with officers, Chafee said.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
“The driver stated he was not aware he had struck a pedestrian,” Chafee said. “He continued home, parked his vehicle and walked back to the scene and spoke with police once he realized a pedestrian had been struck.”
Sims was arrested and charged with homicide by vehicle, hit-and-run and driving with a suspended license, police said. He is being booked into the Fulton County Jail.
Authorities have not released the name of the woman killed.
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