School resource officer struck by car in Gwinnett Co.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County school resource officer was injured when he was struck by a car while searching for a student involved in a fight.

Gwinnett County Public Schools said officer Chuck McCallum was searching near Meadowcreek High School for students involved in a fight in the lunchroom earlier in the morning when he was hit by a car, but the driver took off.

Gwinnett County police said they were called at 10:48 a.m. Thursday and officers found students tending to the McCallum, a 14-year veteran with the school district. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance but is expected to be OK.

Police said Jarvis Ruff struck McCallum and left the scene, but crashed his car into a subdivision sign about a mile away. The car went down and embankment and caught fire. Ruff was not seriously injured in the crash.

"The suspect driving the vehicle was able to get out of the vehicle and flee into the woods. We had several officers in the area, and he was pretty quickly caught," Gwinnett County police Cpl. Jake Smith told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.

Police said the same students who were tending to McCallum directed officers to Ruff's car.

Ruff, 17, also attends Meadowcreek High, but school officials do not believe he was involved in the lunchroom fight. He was charged with hit and run, reckless driving and driving without a license, among other offenses. School investigators do not know why he was off-campus at the time.

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WSBTV