Reversing earlier reports, Gwinnett County police Thursday said a 17-year-old state championship wrestler who was found critically injured on the side of the road was not struck by a hit-run motorist.
“We are confident that he was not struck by a vehicle,” police Cpl. Edwin Ritter said of the incident earlier this week involving Tsvetomir Petrushev, 17. He is a junior at the Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee and two-time Class AAAAA state wrestling champion.
Ritter declined to detail any theories investigators may now have about how Petrushev was hurt, saying they haven’t been confirmed yet. The investigation is continuing.
“We have not ruled out that a vehicle was involved somehow or another,” Ritter said in an email. “We have spoken with the victim as well as others and the incident is still under investigation.”
An officer responding to a domestic call in unincorporated Norcross about 4:30 a.m. Sunday discovered the teen lying bloodied from life-threatening injuries on Williams Road near Tug Drive, police said.
The youth was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville. He had sustained massive head injuries as well as a broken jaw and pelvis.
The Accident Investigation Unit looked into the incident and found “no physical evidence to substantiate a hit-and-run and the injuries are inconsistent with being struck by a vehicle,” according to a news release issued Thursday afternoon by the police.
Ritter said he could not state Petrushev’s current condition but said, “He’s able to communicate and is expected to fully recover.”
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