19-year-old found dead in middle of Georgia highway after driver runs over his body, GSP says

FORT VALLEY, Ga. — A teen was found dead in the middle of a Georgia highway after a driver ran over his body, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

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Troopers said a driver called 911 to report that he had run over a body lying in the middle of Highway 96 in Fort Valley just before 12:30 a.m. last Friday. According the WXGA, the driver told police the victim, identified as 19-year-old Rudy Ruiz Garcia, was already dead.

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The driver told trooper that he saw what he thought was an object in the road and he wasn’t able to avoid it. After he hit Garcia, he turned around to go figure out what he had run over.

When the driver discovered Garcia’s body, he blocked the road with his car to make sure no one else hit him.

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The driver has not been identified. It’s unclear if he faces charges.

Details about how Garcia died have not been released. It’s unclear if authorities believe foul play was involved in his death.

“It is possible he was struck prior to being hit by the vehicle on the crash report,’ troopers said. “However, there was not enough evidence on scene to make that determination. We do know the pedestrian was not standing but lying down in the roadway when struck by the vehicle on the crash report.”

Garcia was from Guatemala.

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