Cops: Driver takes off after getting out of car, seeing dead pedestrian in street

Police investigate after a pedestrian was killed in an apparent hit-and-run in the southbound lane of Jonesboro Road near Mt. Zion Road in Clayton County.

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

Credit: PHIL SKINNER

Police investigate after a pedestrian was killed in an apparent hit-and-run in the southbound lane of Jonesboro Road near Mt. Zion Road in Clayton County.

Morrow police are looking for someone they say drove away after hitting and killing a man at a crosswalk Monday morning.

The driver of a pickup truck stopped, got out of his car, saw the victim lying in the street and then drove off, Morrow police Chief James Callaway told reporters at the scene.

The victim, a 28-year-old man, was in the crosswalk at the intersection of Jonesboro and Mt. Zion roads shortly before 7 a.m., police said. His identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

“At the point of impact, the victim was thrown a great distance” and was dead by the time police arrived, Callaway said.

Citing witness accounts, the chief said “there is no question whatsoever” that the driver saw the victim before taking off.

He urged residents to be on the lookout for an older-model red Ford pickup, which went south on Jonesboro Road toward Jonesboro. It would have some damage on its right side.

Callaway also had a message for the driver.

“If you're seeing these reports ... please turn yourself in,” he said. “This is going to be weighing very, very heavily on you today, and please just come talk to us.”

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash, police told AJC.com.

This was the second time Monday morning that officials in Clayton County were called to a deadly pedestrian crash.

An officer was hit by a vehicle while investigating a deadly pedestrian accident, blocking I-75 North in Clayton County for hours.

Clayton County police were on scene at C.W. Grant Parkway to investigate the pedestrian’s death. Multiple northbound lanes of I-75 just inside the Perimeter were shut down before 2:30 a.m.

MORE: Officer hit by car while investigating deadly pedestrian accident

The officer’s injuries are not life-threatening, according to police. Details about the pedestrian hit by a vehicle have not been released.

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