Parents speaking out after daughters were hit by driver that is accused of leaving the scene

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The parents of two girls who were hit by a car while crossing the street say it could take up to a year for one of them to recover from their injuries.

The parents of each girl told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that their daughters were crossing the street to head back to work from their lunch break when a driver hit them and kept going.

The driver told police he had the green light to go and said he stopped to check on the girls, but witnesses say the driver never stopped.

“She can’t walk. She can’t lift her leg. She needs help. I have to help her do everything now,” Charnnell Williams said about her daughter’s injuries. “The doctor said no spring break. No summers. Not even a fall or winter.”

Jonathan Hillery’s daughter was injured too.

“She sustained some injuries but she’s still in a lot of pain,” Hillery said.

Williams’ and Hillery’s daughter work together at a Publix in Cobb County.

The crash happened near the intersection of Delk and Terrill Mill roads.

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“Once he hit her head-on, she suspended into the air and hit the concrete,” Williams said.

“I’m just angry at the complete disregard for a human life,” Hillery said.

According to an incident report, witnesses told police the girls crossed the street while the light was green and said the driver kept going.

Williams and Hillery said their daughters wouldn’t dart out in the road, they also have concerns about the traffic light. Hillery went back to the crash scene to record a video of how quickly the light changed.

“With that intersection and that light, it goes from a red light to a green light back to a red light in less than 10 seconds,” Hillery said.

Witnesses told police the driver got out of his car to yell at the girls for crossing the street after he hit them, then he took off.

“I’m outraged. I’m sad for her. I’m full of emotions,” Williams said,

According to the police report, when officers found the driver the same day, his breath smelled like alcohol.

Police said he admitted to having two drinks and continued drinking when he got home. He also told police he had the green light and tried to stop to help the girls.

“I’m angry. I feel that justice is not being served,” Hillery said.

Police told Newell that the driver was released on a hit-and-run citation because the jail would not take him for medical reasons.

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