One Gwinnett County police officer says he’s never seen anything like it.

An alleged DUI driver is responsible for a string of hit-and-run accidents in Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties. One of the victims is dead and several others are in the hospital.

"He intentionally tried to hit me so that's when he chased me,” Dennis Brown told Channel 2 Action News he was hit by the driver on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County. ”It was like a video game. I couldn't believe he was trying to do that.”

The 70-year-old driver was in a Ford F-250 pick-up truck. His spree started on Memorial Drive in DeKalb where is he believed to have caused five wrecks just at the intersection of Hambrick Road. It ended when he crashed into a building on Highway 78 in Gwinnett County, police said.

Along the way, the man rear-ended a car and pushed it under a flatbed truck on Hwy. 78 at Walton Court near Snellville. A woman, believed to be in her 60s, died at the scene. The driver of that car was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Ed Ritter said.

“We’ve seen a lot of fatal accidents involving DUIs,” Ritter told News/Talk WSB’s Jennifer Griffies, “but to this extent where there are this many vehicles involved, I haven’t seen anything like that in 15 years of law enforcement.”

The alleged drunk driver was arrested after he crashed into John Boy’s Home Cooking restaurant in Snellville. Ritter says there is moderate damage to the building.

No one inside the building was hurt, but the suspect said he was. The man was taken to the hospital with injuries that are not believed to be serious, Ritter said.

Once he gets out of the hospital it will be off to jail. Gwinnett police say the will charge him with vehicular homicide, DUI, and reckless driving. DeKalb County police will file their own charges because of the crashes on Memorial Drive.



mobile apps

Everything you love about wsbradio.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!