Driver accused of crashing into girl appears in court

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The man accused of crashing into two little girls with a car and then running away was in court Monday.

Gabriel Jabri Fordham, 28, of Lithonia, was charged with serious injury by vehicle, a stop sign violation, and hit and run. But attorneys for Fordham claim their client is a victim too.

They said he was unconscious at the time of the crash because a carjacker jumped in his car and pistol-whipped him. Police said there was a gun found, but said Fordham’s claims remain under investigation along with the rest of the case.

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Surveillance footage released by the family shows a black Ford Focus running right through a stop sign and hitting the girls as they played in the front yard of a home along Cherokee Valley Circle in Lithonia on March 29.

LaDerihanna Holmes, the 9-year-old girl who was seriously injured in the crash suffering a fractured skull and a broken pelvis, was released from the hospital the other week and moved to a rehab center.

Another young girl, Alayshia Phillips, 11, suffered a foot injury.

Fordham remains in jail as of Monday afternoon.

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