Local

Man charged in hit-and-run that injured crossing guard faces judge

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The suspect accused of hitting a Cherokee County crossing guard and fleeing the scene, made his first court appearance Friday night at the Cherokee County Detention Center.

A solemn Victor Baruchman, 20, entered the courtroom to hear the charges he's facing for a hit-and-run earlier this week.

They include felony hit-and-run, serious injury by vehicle, another felony, reckless driving, passing in a no passing zone, tampering with evidence and failure to obey an authorized person.

Baruchman didn't speak, other than to ask the judge about his bail, which currently stands at close to $30,000.

Cherokee County sheriff's deputies said Baruchman hit 63-year-old school crossing guard Jerrold Reaid and broke his ankle on Bells Ferry Road Tuesday, then fled the scene.

On Wednesday, an anonymous tip led deputies to a Woodstock home, where they found the suspect's vehicle with the damaged bumper removed.

They said Baruchman admitted to rushing down Bells Ferry because he was trying to make it to his graduation from DUI school, something the victim's daughter told Channel 2 Action News she and her family can't understand.

"You've already messed up once, you're going to your graduation ceremony, so you've completed this, but now you've got yourself into even more serious trouble. All you had to do was stop," Reaid's daughter Jessica Reaid said.

Baruchman's next court appearance is set for April 18, unless he bonds out of jail earlier than that.

Jerrold Reaid is still recovering at his Acworth home.