Police release more details about park assault on teen

May 15—While a Milledgeville teen continues recovering from serious injuries he received after being hit by the driver of a car driving recklessly through a parking lot of Walter B. Williams Jr. Recreation Center, new details have emerged.

A 16-year-old remains in the custody of state juvenile authorities. He is charged with one count of aggravated assault.

The teen is accused of intentionally hitting 17-year-old Martell Wright of Milledgeville while driving a gray Hyundai Sonata. The victim was taken to Atrium Health Navicent, The Medical Center in Macon where he was admitted as a patient. It is not known whether or not he has been released from the hospital.

The incident happened May 7 shortly before 9 p.m.

Sgt. Brandon Crawford with the Milledgeville Police Department said before he arrived at the park, a dispatcher had alerted officers that a young male had been struck by a vehicle and that he was having difficulty breathing or possibly having a seizure.

Crawford said when he got to the scene, he saw the victim lying on the ground behind a parked vehicle.

"Wright had blood all on his face from trauma caused by the collision along with other complaints of injury," Crawford said in his report.

Personnel with Atrium Health Navicent Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene and began offering the victim help.

Crawford talked to witnesses who saw what happened.

One of the witnesses told him that the car that hit Wright had been "driving really fast in the parking lot in circles."

When the car came back around the last time toward the exit in front of the gymnasium entrance, the car struck Wright, causing him to flip over the car.

The witness described the car to the police officer.

Another witness provided additional details.

"[She] stated two males were walking across the parking lot, and that both males attempted to get out of the way of the vehicle," Crawford said.

One of them was hit by the driver of the car.

The driver then fled the scene, Adams said. The woman also gave police a description of the driver.

Another witness told Crawford she was standing beside her vehicle and spotted a Hyundai circling the parking lot at a high rate of speed.

Crawford said she told him that after the car struck Wright it caused him to fly into the air and that the driver left the area without ever stopping, according to the incident report.

Another witness told him that he and Wright had been playing with another group of young people when he saw a car circling the parking lot.

The witness, a juvenile, told Crawford that the driver attempted to hit him but missed and instead struck Wright.

Another witness said she saw the car speeding through the parking lot on three or four occasions.

Crawford said he had a dispatcher notify MPD Sgt. Thomas Smith III and the on-call detective, Michael McLeroy.

Smith, who investigates all accidents involving serious injuries, said he also talked with one of the witnesses about what she saw.

She stated she heard the driver punch the gas before he struck the victim, Smith said.

Smith said he marked the scene for critical items, such as point of impact, point of rest, as well as other evidence.

"As I was marking the scene, I was informed that there was a video of the event and that it was going to be treated as an incident, not an accident, and that the on-call detective had been notified," Smith said. "I continued collecting data and photos from the scene when Detective McLeroy arrived and asked to view the video."

The two law enforcement officers watched the surveillance camera video together.

"On the video, I observed the suspect's car driving around the parking lot in a reckless manner by excessively speeding up and slowing down while there were pedestrians in the parking lot as several games had ended," Smith said. "While viewing the video, the suspect's vehicle was also seen driving against the marked flow of traffic in the parking lot."

At one point in the video, Smith said the car turned around and accelerated in the direction of the two teens walking across the parking lot. At the last minute, the car veered to the left.

"Prior to the vehicle moving to the left, the victim began to run back toward the building due to him believing that he may be struck," Smith said. "As the victim began to run, the suspect vehicle moved to the left, striking the victim with the front right area of the car. The victim then struck the windshield and tumbled over the side of the car."

The police detective interviewed the suspect and his mother when they returned to the park later that night.

The suspect reportedly told police that he left the scene after hitting the victim because he was scared.