A man traveling with his girlfriend’s two small children in a 2009 Pontiac G6 crashed it along a Polk County highway, then fled even though both children were severely injured, according to authorities.
One of them, a 6-year-old boy, died later at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, Georgia State Patrol said.
Polk County authorities captured Robert Nelson Wood, 42, of Tallapoosa, after an all-day manhunt Sunday. The search involved a state patrol helicopter, and GSP announced that the driver was caught less than a mile from the wreck site.
Wood has a suspended driver’s license, but was driving early Sunday with the children, according to Polk County Police Cpl. Michael Lynch. He also is on probation for other crimes.
“It’s a tragic situation,” Lynch said.
Wood has done several prison stints, with a rap sheet including theft by receiving stolen property, theft by taking and a drug violation, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections website.
The crash happened around 7 a.m. on Tallapoosa Highway, south of Cedartown, which is about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta. Troopers believe Wood veered off the edge of the roadway, striking a ditch and rolling the car over onto its top.
A witness told troopers the driver fled after pulling the children out, according to the state patrol. He apparently left with no shirt or shoes, wearing shorts.
Lynch said police found no evidence of drugs or alcohol at the scene.
Trent Brooks, 6, and Gabriel Brooks, 5, both from Tallapoosa, were taken to Floyd Medical Center and later flown to Chattanooga, a GSP statement said. Trent died at the hospital and Gabriel has serious injuries.
2 killed in I-285 wreck in DeKalb County
Two people were killed in a wreck that shut down part of I-285 in DeKalb County for several hours early Sunday, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on I-285 at Flat Shoals Road. It affected traffic for almost five hours, the Georgia Department of Transportation said.
Three motorcycles and a car were involved in the crash, Channel 2 said.
The names of the deceased are not yet available.
The DeKalb County Police Department is handling the investigation.
Body found behind southeast Atlanta gas station identified
The identity of the man whose body was found behind a southeast Atlanta gas station was released Sunday.
The man was 45-year-old Mario Adams of Jonesboro, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Atlanta police found him next to a dumpster behind the Pure gas station on 3015 Jonesboro Road at about 5:2o a.m. Saturday, police spokesman Carlos Campos said. Adams was fatally shot. He said no motive has been determined.
Man critically injured in hit and run in NW Atlanta
A man is in critical condition after being hit by a car in northwest Atlanta late Saturday night.
Larry Waller, 63, was hit by a dark-colored, four-door sedan as he was crossing the street at the intersection of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and Paines Avenue, Atlanta police spokesman Gregory Lyon said.
Witnesses said the car left the scene without stopping or offering to help the man.
Channel 2 Action News reported that police found Waller lying in the street when they arrived. The impact had knocked his shoes off.
Lyon said Waller was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with critical injuries. “Whoever hit him, please turn yourself in because you have to live with this the rest of your life,” said Rhonda Myrick, Waller’s cousin. “You have grieving family members just really upset.”
Police will reconstruct the crash and try to talk to Waller in the hospital to investigate the incident.
Staff writers Angel K. Brooks, Mike Morris, and Cailin O’Brien contributed to this article.
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