Evidence collected from a debris-covered Gwinnett County road led to the arrest of a driver accused in a fatal hit-and-run crash, authorities said Tuesday.
Nidar Ballan-Bellan, 45, is facing a homicide charge in connection with the death of 26-year-old Cassius Franswah, a pedestrian who was struck early Monday at the intersection of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Prince Charles Drive, according to the Duluth Police Department.
The suspect allegedly drove away after the crash and was located near his damaged vehicle at an apartment complex in the city around 17 hours later, police spokesman Cpl. Ted Sadowski said in a news release.
“The Duluth Police Department swiftly took action to investigate the incident and apprehend the responsible party,” Sadowski said.
Officers responded around 12:20 a.m. after getting a call about a pedestrian struck by a vehicle and found Franswah lying in the road. They performed life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but Franswah died after being taken to a hospital, police said.
During the investigation, officers collected vehicle parts at the scene, which led them to identify the car involved as a Nissan Sentra, Sadowski told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Using traffic cameras, Sadowski said the vehicle was then tracked to the complex parking lot off Peachtree Industrial, where the suspect lived.
“The vehicle displayed significant damage to its front, consistent with the evidence collected from the hit-and-run scene,” police said.
Ballan-Bellan was booked into the county jail Monday evening and is facing charges of homicide by vehicle, hit-and-run resulting in death, and driving without a license, according to online records. He is being held without bond on the two felony charges.
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