Owner says stolen box truck involved in hit-and-run crashes has been recovered, suspect arrested

ATLANTA — Police have arrested the man who stole a large box truck in Buckhead Monday and later crashed into a car in College Park and drove off.

According to the owner of the box truck, Conyers Police arrested the man outside of a convenience store Tuesday evening.

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Conyers Police said they received a Flock alert of the stolen truck entering the City of Conyers around 5:55 p.m.

Officers located the vehicle and the suspect, DeAndre Lewis, at the Conyers Crossroad Shopping Center.

A crash victim, Dearia Williams, told Channel 2′s Tom Regan what she was feeling during the crash.

“We were terrified. I thought we were going to flip over,” said Williams.

William said the white box truck barrelled out of a shopping center and veered across several lanes of Old National Highway before side-swiping her car.

“That’s how fast he was going. We thought we were going to flip over. And my son was in the car. In the back seat,” said Williams.

A witness who saw the crash, William Bowen, tried to stop the truck driver.

“He rolled down the window and I said you just caused an accident. He just threw up his arms out of the window. I turned around to make sure the family was okay,” said Bowen.

On Tuesday afternoon, a couple said they narrowly missed getting hit by the same truck near Fayetteville.

“It was scary, I had to swerve so he wouldn’t hit me,” said Kristian Burkford.

The truck was stolen while the driver made a service stop at a restaurant on Peachtree Road.

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He was in the business for five minutes and when he came out, the truck was gone.

“I’m not sure why someone would do this. I don’t understand. He’s very dangerous and he needs to be stopped,” said Best Linen Service President Patti Strickland.

Another person told Channel 2 Action News the same truck hit his work Tuesday afternoon while it was parked near underground Atlanta. The truck driver didn’t stop.

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