Driver who fatally struck Snellville teen felt a 'bump' when pulling into parking space, police say
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - An incident report reveals new details in the death of a Gwinnett County teenager struck by a car in the parking lot of a Snellville apartment complex.
According to the Snellville Police Department, no arrests have been made in the case.
According to a police report, officers arrived at the scene on the 2,100 block of Kings Gate Circle at around 6:20 a.m. on Jan. 20. Gwinnett County Fire Department personnel reportedly pronounced the girl, later identified as 16-year-old South Gwinnett High School student Camaya Harris, dead at the scene.
FAMILY HOLD VIGIL IN HONOR OF TEEN KILLED NEAR SCHOOL BUS STOP
The driver involved in the incident told police they pulled into the parking space in front of an apartment and felt a "bump" but did not see a pedestrian.
A school bus driver allegedly first saw an umbrella on the ground next to the car, indicating someone was underneath. She came up to the car "screaming" and they explained to the driver not to move the car because someone was trapped.
The driver who struck Harris and the school bus driver who witnessed the incident are married, police said. The bus driver said they were not aware of who was driving the car, at first.
Police said Harris was found lying face-up "almost completely under the vehicle." Her head was reportedly positioned toward the front of the car, just inside the right front wheel and her feet were towards the rear.
The girl's family is calling for criminal charges.
"How could you pull into a parking spot and take a life like that? Had to be speeding that's the only thing I could think of, or distracted," the victim's grandmother Vern Wood told FOX 5 Atlanta.
Relatives told FOX 5 Atlanta Harris was hit as she walked to the school bus stop.
"I heard a lot of screaming," said Wood," commotion going on in the house. I came downstairs and they were saying that my granddaughter was dead."
On Sunday evening a vigil was held in Harris' honor. Loved ones brought flowers, balloons, and candles in remembrance of the late high school student.
"It showed she loved everyone and everyone loved her," family member Natalie Hill said.