Man Abandoned Critically-Injured Passenger In Hit-And-Run, Duluth Police Say

DULUTH, GA — A man is in jail after police say he left his critically-injured passenger at the scene of a crash involving a car being pinned between traffic-signal and utility poles around 5:30 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Buford and Duluth highways.

Duluth Police on Friday said the passenger had been unrestrained in the car and was ejected at the time of the single-car crash.

Officers found the person suffering from life-threatening injuries, police said. The person remained in critical condition at the hospital as of Friday morning, police said.

The details that led to the crash were not released.

During the investigation, police said they used surveillance video that showed the driver getting out of the heavily-damaged car and walking away from the scene. Police said the driver abandoned the passenger and did not call 911.

Officers on Tuesday arrested Samuel Contreras-Garcia, 20, on charges of hit and run resulting in serious injury or death, serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane and driving without a license.

Gwinnett County Jail records on Friday showed Contreras-Garcia is being held on a $5,550 bond on the three latter charges, but he did not receive a bond for the charges of hit and run and serious injury by vehicle.