GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County authorities are trying to identify two different drivers who hit a man Friday night and then took off.
Witnesses said one driver in a red Toyota passenger car stopped and looked at the victim in the middle of the road, then got back in the vehicle and drove away.
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Channel 2′s Tony Thomas reports Julio Sandoval died Friday night. The Sandoval family is pleading for help.
“If this was an accident, why did you run away from the scene? Why didn’t you help him?” asked Sandoval’s daughter Ruth.
Ruth said the family celebrated her father’s 54th birthday on Saturday. Just a few days later, Julio Sandoval was struck and killed crossing Singleton Road a couple of blocks from their house.
“My neighbor call me and told me my dad was ran over there,” Ruth Sandoval said.
Gwinnett County police said Sandoval was crossing Singleton Road just north of Jimmy Carter Boulevard on Friday about 8 p.m. Investigators said it appears a northbound vehicle hit him first, knocking Sandoval into the southbound lanes where a second vehicle hit him.
Investigators said that they aren’t sure which way Sandoval was headed. They also don’t know if the red Toyota that briefly stopped was the first or second car to strike the man.
“If you have heart, you need to face what you did,” Ruth Sandoval said “Who did this to him, didn’t stop? I don’t want this to go without punishment. He was a human being.”
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The family said they’ve heard reports one of the cars may have left the scene by driving through their small neighborhood. Police have not confirmed that detail.
A small roadside memorial now rests against a traffic sign along Singleton Road to mark the spot where Sandoval died. Spray paint used by investigators to mark key points in the roadway for the investigation can still be seen on the pavement.
The stretch of Singleton Road is a busy five-lane affair with no median. Jimmy Carter Boulevard is just to the south. Businesses and strip malls line the road. On a Friday night, it’s a very busy area.
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Ruth Sandoval says her father came to Georgia from El Salvador. He leaves behind three children: Ruth, an older sibling and a 14-year-old.
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