ATLANTA — The Atlanta community is in shock after a 9-year-old boy was struck by a car and killed in a hit-and-run outside a basketball registration event Tuesday night.
Atlanta Police said it all happened around 6:40 p.m. off Cleveland Avenue near the Rosel Fann Recreation Center. After hitting the boy, police said the driver left the scene and was not there when they arrived.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office identified the child Wednesday evening as Jamal Dean.
Aaron McGruder, who lives nearby, said he heard people yelling and came out of his hose to see the child lying in the street.
“I heard a loud ‘oh my gosh,' but I didn’t think nothing of it until my daughter said, 'daddy something had happened,' and then I came out of the house to find this boy in the street with blood on him and he wasn’t moving," McGruder explained.
Councilmember Antonio Lewis, who serves over the district where it happened, said there was a registration event for a youth parks and recreation basketball league that was taking place at the time of the accident.
The suspect quickly drove around four or five cars before he hit the boy and then drove off, according to Lewis.
The councilmember said there was a backup of cars coming out of the center onto Cleveland Avenue and that at some point, a vehicle attempted to go around the traffic.
“They crossed two double-sided lines in front of a recreation center with no regard for any kid," Lewis added.
Lewis said the 9-year-old was at the center with his mom getting registered to play in the basketball league. After being struck, police said the child was badly hurt. Dean was taken to Grady Hospital where he later died.
“One of the worst things you can ever do is talk to a parent after something tragic just happened to their kid and something that no fault of her own," Lewis said. "Some that she brought a kid to get a certification so that her kid could play a sport. A sport."
Authorities have not released any details about the vehicle or the person they're looking for and said that it is still under investigation.