Arrest made more than a month after man run over by SUV, dragged several yards
Peyton Wells (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
ATLANTA - Police have made an arrest in a terrifying hit-and-run caught on camera in the parking lot of an Atlanta bar last month.
Peyton Wells faces charges including aggravated assault and hit-and-run resulting in a serious injury.
MAN RUN OVER BY SUV AND DRAGGED SEVERAL YARDS
It happened at a business in the 700 block of Ponce De Leon Avenue on Jan. 7, but the victim didn’t report it until Jan. 20 when he saw the person he believed to be responsible at the same establishment. Police were called to the scene and reviewed the video.
Jeff Whitmire was with some friends the night it happened at a bar on Ponce when the chaos broke out. He said another customer was leaving the bar and when it got outside, he started yelling obscenities at people then went to his vehicle, a silver SUV.
The video shows the man back up and hit Whitmire's car not once, but twice. Whitmire started running toward him, yelling at him to stop. He said he made eye contact with the driver. The video then showed the victim being run over by a Jeep at a high rate of speed, according to the incident report. Whitmire was dragged 20 to 30 feet. Others saw what happened and rushed to help.
One man reached into the passenger side and put the SUV in park. That's when Whitmire managed to roll out from beneath the car and get to safety. The driver of the SUV hit a couple of more cars in the parking lot and took off.
An ambulance took Whitmire to the hospital with injuries to his head, back, abdomen and knee. He said even the doctor was surprised it wasn't worse.
POLICE REPORT DETAIL BAR DRAGGING RELEASE
When Whitmire saw the same driver two weeks later at the same bar, the manager recognized him and called police.
According to the incident report, Wells was not immediately arrested, but was given a copy of the charges and driven home at his request because he had been drinking.
Whitmire works security. He hasn't been able to go back to his job since the accident. There is a GoFundMe set-up to help with his medical expenses.
Wells was booked into the Fulton County jail.
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