While riding home with a friend from work Saturday night, Lisa Turner said they spotted something no one wants to see on the side of the road: a man’s body.

After turning around, they discovered the 23-year-old was still alive, screaming for help after being the victim of a hit-and-run, Channel 2 Action News reported.

“I went down in the ditch where he was, and his leg was just completely crushed at the bottom,” Turner said. “He had a large gash ear-to-ear where he was bleeding.”

Turner called 911, and the man was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering, Channel 2 reported. He suffered a lacerated spleen, several head injuries and a crushed left foot.

The man’s mother, who Channel 2 did not identify, said her son was walking home when he was hit. She said his road to recovery is long, but she’s thankful he’s out of the hospital's intensive care unit.

“It’s just not acceptable, whatever the case may be, to hit somebody and not stop and get them the medical attention they need,” she said.

Carroll County deputies recovered a broken side mirror containing a serial number at the scene in the 2000 block of Rockmart Road, which they hope will help them find the hit-and-run driver, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.

The man, Jacob Cronan, was walking when the car hit him. He told deputies that whoever hit him did so on purpose because he was not walking in the roadway, the report said.

“He just saw a flash and remembers going in the ditch,” Investigator Ashley Hulsey told the news station.

Investigators said the serial number is linked to either a 2001 or 2002 Dodge Ram, but the color and series remains unknown.

This is a generic photo of the type of Dodge Ram that investigators believe hit the 23-year-old man and kept driving. This is not a picture of the suspect's vehicle.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

icon to expand image

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Turner believes God put her in the right place at the right time, since her friend had missed a turn, which is the only reason they passed the man.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at 770-830-5916 or sstollar@carrollsheriff.com.

In other news:

Police said a man turned himself in Friday morning.