Police investigate string of carjackings

ATLANTA — Police are sending out a warning after someone bumped a couple's car and carjacked them at gunpoint when they got out of their car to check the damage.

Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri has learned there have been at least three carjackings in the Buckhead area since Friday.

The most recent one happened at the intersection of West Wesley and Howell Mill roads, a few feet away from Morris Brandon Elementary School.

The victim told Viteri another car bumped him just enough to get him out of the car and then pointed a gun at him and his wife.

Mark Hutto said he and his wife were enjoying a rare date night out Wednesday.

They were on the way home to their two small children around 11 p.m. when they stopped at the traffic light on West Wesley and Howell Mill roads.

"We got a slight tap on the back of the car," Hutto said.

The couple got out of their car to see who hit them. Hutto said there were three men in the car.

He asked if they had insurance and said the driver responded by pointing a .9mm pistol in his face.

"It was real simple: 'Give me everything you got or I'm going to kill you,'" Hutto said.

He said he gave the man his wallet. That man then took Hutto's car, taking off on Howell Mill Road with the other car following. Hutto and his wife were left standing on the road.

"We're lucky. I mean, it was very scary," Hutto told Viteri.

Police are looking into another carjacking that happened on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard Wednesday morning.

Surveillance video from a nearby business shows the thief approach a man getting out of his car. The victim told Viteri by phone the man pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him.

Video shows the victim sprinting away as the man drives away in his car.

Hutto told Viteri he made a mistake getting out of his car.

In an email, Atlanta Police Maj. Van Hobbs sent advice to drivers in similar situations:

• Do not exit your vehicle but lock the doors, put on your flashers, and call 911 to report the accident.

• Leave the vehicle in gear in case you need to escape the area.

• Watch your mirrors to see what actions the individual(s) inthe vehicle that struck you are taking.

• If multiple subjects exit the vehicle and approach your vehicle rapidly or you feel threatened, leave the area and call 911.

"You don't think about those things until something like this happens to you. But you know, I know how I'll handle it next time," Hutto said.

WSBTV