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Arrest made after fatal hit-and-run in DeKalb

Michael Burnett (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)
Michael Burnett (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)
By Ellen Eldridge
July 24, 2017

A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in DeKalb County on Saturday morning.

Michael Burnett was arrested outside of DeKalb County, and police said he has warrants in another state.

Police believe Burnett is responsible for the death of 22-year-old Gerald Dent, who was struck by a car on Snapfinger Woods and Shell Bark roads.

Officials rushed Dent to the hospital, but he later died.

“That hurts really bad because he could've assisted him. He could've seen if there's something he could've done,” Beverly Shanks, Dent's grandmother, told Channel 2 Action News. “He'll have to live with this the rest of his life.”

Shanks said Dent was a 2013 graduate of Druid Hills High School. She told Channel 2 she believes he was headed home after a rap performance on the morning he was killed.

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