Abigail Hernandez was with her father and sister outside Dick’s Sporting Goods, Mall of Georgia, in Gwinnett County when a pickup truck ran into her this past March. Abigail was killed. She was four years old.
For reasons not detailed in reporting, the Gwinnett County Police Department (GCPD) said on Monday that no charges would be brought against the teenage driver that killed Abigail. The GCPD is reported to have claimed “that their investigation showed he was not driving recklessly, was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol and did not leave the scene – all serious offenses that would have called for charges.”
Of course, driving “recklessly” is different from driving “carelessly” or driving “negligently,” each of which status justifies prosecution. The GCPD did, however, express their “condolences to the family of Abigail Hernandez” for what a spokesperson described as an “unimaginable tragedy.”
The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office (GCDAO) rejected the conclusions of the GCPD. The GCDAO stated that its office will be “pressing charges against the teen driver who hit and killed a 4-year-old girl.
Speaking before a meeting at the Gwinnett County Courthouse with the district attorney on Tuesday morning, Hernandez’s family strongly disagreed with the police department. The family “said they still wanted the driver to face consequences. You know nothing will ever bring her back but I just want justice and hopefully you know we keep pushing for that,” Abigail’s mother, Marina Hernandez said.
The GCDAO has not said what charges the driver will be facing but did say they will be misdemeanors. GCDAO Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said: “Sometimes this happens that we are a second look. We’ll take a second look at cases and make a determination based on what we do, on whether we will pursue charges on that.” As reported, Austin-Gatson said she “reviewed video of the incident and had been monitoring the case for several weeks before making her decision.” Austin-Gatson elaborated. “But what we have seen now, we fully intend to bring charges on this matter.”
