North Fulton County

8-year-old boy hit by car after suspected DUI driver crashes, police say

By Mike Petchenik, WSB-TV
By Mike Petchenik, WSB-TV

ROSWELL, Ga. — Roswell police say a suspected DUI driver crashed into several cars, one of which then hit an 8-year-old boy walking to the bus stop.

Isreal Alexander is now facing DUI charges. The child wasn't badly hurt.

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik talked a neighbor who witnessed the scary accident. Livia Raineri lives on Hemingway Lane. Last Tuesday morning, her family heard tires screeching and metal crunching right outside their apartment.

"I hear this huge noise," Raineri said. "My daughter looked through the window and realized the accident happened right here."

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Officer Lisa Holland said Alexander plowed into three other cars in the parking lot of the complex, pushing one into the child on the sidewalk.

"He hit the first car with such force that it pushed into two additional cars and there were two children walking to the bus stop on the sidewalk," Holland said. "One of the cars was forced into an 8-year-old boy."

Holland said thankfully, the boy was not hurt,, but it could have been much worse.

"If the child were walking between any of those cars, he would have been crushed," Holland said.

Holland said Alexander first tried to claim that his girlfriend was driving. They say he was high.

Raineri said she's worried that there aren't enough sidewalks in the complex.

"I was concerned," Raineri said. "I talked to community management because there aren't enough sidewalks for pedestrians to walk and our kids can get hurt all the time."

Petchenik spoke to a mother of one-year-old twins who was shocked the accident happened so close to home.

"That's crazy because we always come out here and walk around and play," she said. "I just can't believe it."

Petchenik tried to reach Alexander through his girlfriend, who lives in the complex. A neighbor said they moved out after the crash.

Cox Media Group

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