‘I thought my mama was dead:’ Woman run over in front of Clayton courthouse; driver wasn’t arrested

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A woman says her mother nearly died when a driver went around barricades in front of a local courthouse and ran over her and two others. The family is not happy the police didn’t arrest the driver.

“I thought my mama was dead,” Rayvon Williams told Channel 2′s Tom Jones. Williams took one look at a picture of her mother pinned under an SUV in front of the Clayton County courthouse and thought the worst.

“When I seen those pictures I thought she was gone,” Williams explained.

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Christopher Belinda Spann, 55, survived the bizarre incident that happened on May 3.

“It’s like something that you would see in a movie,” Williams said.

Spann was at the courthouse fighting what she called an unlawful eviction. As she stood out front, Jonesboro police say 77-year-old Robert Lee Wells drove around barricades, hit a tree and a handicapped parking sign, before hitting Spann and two others. Spann and a man were pinned underneath the SUV.

“They had a hard time getting her out,” Williams explained.

Spann received the worst of it, with her upper torso trapped underneath. Her daughter says the SUV dragged her a short distance.

“I couldn’t even imagine how somebody pinned under the back wheels like that could even survive something that traumatic,” she recalled.

Spann has undergone several surgeries. Her daughter says she is in constant pain and needs more surgery.

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Her family wonders how something like this can happen.

Police say Wells didn’t remember what happened. They say he then told them his brakes failed, and this was the second time that has happened recently. Police believe his advanced age played a role in the crash.

They have asked the state to review his license. They say Wells’ daughter also has tried to get him to give up his keys because he is unsafe on the road.

Spann’s family wants to know why the police didn’t arrest him.

“We feel like it’s unjust as I don’t know if that’s the right word. But we don’t feel like it’s fair at all,” Williams said.

Police say Wells wasn’t arrested because he was injured and taken to the hospital. They say he was given a reckless driving citation.

Spann’s family says she has been ordered out of her home. They say while she is trying to recover, they have to find a place for her autistic son to stay.

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