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ByWTOC Staff
Published:Dec. 6, 2021 at 10:47 AM EST
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - UPDATE - The Georgia State Patrol says a soldier was arrested in Hinesville in connection to a deadly hit-and-run in Savannah Sunday night.
GSP says around 7 p.m. Monday, a car was found on Highway 144 on Fort Stewart with damage consistent with the deadly crash that happened at Liberty and Bull streets.
GSP says military police ran the cars tag, which showed the vehicle belonged to a soldier. They say the soldier was questioned by CID and is said to have confessed.
The soldier was arrested and is facing charges. He is currently being held at the Liberty County jail.
The Georgia State Patrol is investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened late Sunday night in downtown Savannah.
According to GSP, a vehicle was fleeing from Savannah police when it struck two pedestrians at Liberty and Bull streets. One of the pedestrians died and the other was seriously injured.
Savannah Police tell us officers spotted the driver speeding on East Broad Street at Oglethorpe Avenue around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. An officer tried to pull the car over but the driver would not stop. Savannah Police ended ended the pursuit at Habersham Street, due to safety factors and according to the department’s pursuit policy.
Shortly after, the driver hit two people at Liberty and Bull Streets - killing one person and injuring the other. WTOC spoke with some employees at businesses near the scene who describe the horrific incident.
“It’s still-I can’t wrap my mind around that that was the sound of this car impacting two human beings. It sounded like an explosion,” said Kate Ainsworth who works at Six Pence Pub.
Kate Ainsworth works at Six Pence on Bull and Liberty streets. Sunday night, she says she was on a break outside when she heard a loud noise followed by screaming.
“I can’t understand how this person could just plow through these people and have so little regard for their lives. It was awful.”
Just across the street at The Public Kitchen and Bar, Connor Coen hopes the City can help make the area safer.
“The foot traffic on this road is a lot more. Cars go ridiculously fast they don’t really slow down for anything,” Coen said.
He thinks speed bumps would help with that.
“We have like three restaurants, four, five restaurants like right around here. People need to be aware that there are going to be cars that are going ridiculously fast through here.”
Just across the street at Mellow Mushroom, Kristin Rodery says after Sunday’s hit and run, she’s been cautious about her surroundings.
“A lot of the times people wills stop half a block down and wave you over, but that’s still in the back of our heads every time you cross the street. As a person who doesn’t own a car myself, that’s definitely something in the last 24 hours I’ve been more conscious about, is making sure the coast is clear, there’s nobody speeding at me and being really grateful when people do stop,” Rodery said.
Authorities are looking for a newer red Dodge Charger Hellcat with Michigan plates. They say the vehicle should be missing the driver side mirror and have front-end damage.
Anyone with information should call GSP at 912.754.1180.
Coastal News Service contributed to this article.
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