Marietta man dies from injuries nine days after hit-and-run

Jun. 28—A Marietta man has died nine days after being injured in a hit-and-run, police said Tuesday.

Robert Morrison died Monday at about 4 p.m., said Officer Chuck McPhilamy, spokesman for the Marietta Police Department.

He was 53.

The suspect accused by police of hitting Morrison while driving drunk has been re-arrested and charged with vehicular homicide.

Santos Rosalio Vicente-Ramos, 22, of Kennesaw, had bonded out of the Cobb County jail after initially being charged with hit and run and serious injury by vehicle. Police took him back into custody Tuesday morning without incident, McPhilamy said. He has been booked back into the jail.

Morrison was standing in front of his home on Wright Street when he was struck around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, according to an arrest warrant. Police say Vicente-Ramos fled the scene without helping Morrison or calling 911. Neighbors found Morrison in the road and called 911 around 11:05 p.m., and he was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.

Officers located Vicente-Ramos using evidence collected at the scene and license plate-reading cameras, per police. When confronted by police, Vicente-Ramos reportedly admitted that he was the driver in the incident and that he had been drinking that evening.

Per the warrant, police found vehicle parts at the crash scene that were determined to be from Vicente-Ramos' 2007 Acura.

Morrison's sister, Susan Caldwell, set up a GoFundMe page last week and has been posting updates about Morrison's condition. Caldwell wrote that Morrison was working to clean up yard clippings in front of his home when he was hit. He reportedly suffered "facial fractures, fractures in the neck, skull fractures, brain bleeds and swelling, vascular problems, broken ribs, and broken left arm and right leg."

"We know he heard, 'Well done, good and faithful servant,' when he entered into Heaven and saw Jesus," Caldwell wrote in a Tuesday update. "God has made him whole again and he is no longer in pain! God continues to show His faithfulness through all of this tough and tragic circumstance. Thank you for all of your love and support you have shown to all of us! We are so grateful for how God has used each and every one!"

Per Caldwell, Morrison lived with and was the primary caretaker of their mother. Morrison was disabled and had rheumatoid arthritis.

Marietta Councilman Johnny Walker, who knew Morrison for decades, said he spoke with Morrison's mother Monday night.

"She got up there to see him, and she was able to tell him she loved him," Walker said. "I think that's kind of what he was waiting on, for his mom to tell him that. He's in heaven now, and he's not suffering with all his ailments that he had, and the most recent car accident ailments."

Walker said Morrison, a Marietta native, was a community fixture, who often attended City Council meetings and Marietta High School football games. Morrison would often call Walker to get problems in the neighborhood, such as overgrowth or cracked sidewalks, addressed by the city. Walker nicknamed him "the mayor of Wright Street."

"So, I just hope the community's going to rally around Ms. Morrison, she's gonna need some help," Walker said.

McPhilamy said the tragedy was a grim reminder of the dangers of driving under the influence.

Since joining the police department eight years ago, McPhilamy said he crossed paths with Morrison dozens of times, all of them positive encounters.

"He was a very civic-minded, neighborly gentleman," McPhilamy said. "And he will be sorely missed."