northwest Georgia police officer has been charged and fired from his job after a possible hit-and-run incident that injured a 3-year-old girl at a day care, according to an announcement.

>> Read more trending news

Lt. Richard Penson was off-duty and driving his personal vehicle in the Dec. 17 incident, which happened about 5:15 p.m., the Rome Police Department said in a statement.

The accident occurred in the driveway of the Kids' Stop Learning Center, according to the announcement. Penson and the injured girl's mother were there to pick up their children, according to WSB.

“You hit my child,” the girl’s mother screamed, according to the police report.

Penson rolled his window down as the mother ran into the day care, the television station reported. He told Georgia State Patrol investigators he didn’t think he hit the child as he drove between cars in the parking lot and waited “a couple of minutes” before leaving.

The girl suffered an injured foot.

Pension is charged with reckless driving, hit-and-run (both misdemeanors) and second-degree cruelty to children (a felony). Penson surrendered at the Floyd County Jail on Friday.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Amy Stevens, a U.S. Navy veteran who founded Georgia Military Women, was inducted this month into the Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame. She recently visited the Atlanta History Center's exhibit, “Our War Too: Women in Service." (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat gives a tour of Fulton County Jail in  2023. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2023)

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC