Driver ran over man in bar parking lot, then returned to bar weeks later, GA cops say
A driver who was accused of hitting several cars and a pedestrian outside a bar in Atlanta was found at the same bar weeks later and taken into custody on Jan. 20, according to police.
Video of the Jan. 7 incident shows a man, identified by media outlets as Jeff Whitmire, get hit by and dragged under a vehicle while the driver steers through the parking lot, hitting multiple vehicles in the process.
Just before the incident, the driver had entered the Friends on Ponce bar and asked for medical assistance, according to WRDW. Whitmire said he advised the man to get some air outside as paramedics were called, and the man went to his car and started driving.
After he was hit, Whitmire managed to crawl out of the car’s path and limp away, the video shows.
“I’m yelling stop, stop, and in the video, you see where my body kind of slouches after he hits my car. And it wasn’t because he hit my car, me and the gentleman made eye contact at that time. And at that time, I knew exactly what was about to happen and I felt kind of trapped knowing that there was no way for me to react quick enough to get out of his way,” Whitmire told WRDW.
According to his GoFundMe, which he started to help pay for his medical bills after the incident, Whitmire suffered a leg injury that prevents him from working until it heals.
The driver was not identified on the night of the incident, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
On Jan. 20, police got a call from Whitmire, who noticed the same car that hit him back in the Friends Ponce bar parking lot, WSB-TV reported.
When police arrived, they learned that security guards had prevented the man from entering the bar. The driver was identified as Peyton Wells, police said.
Wells told officers that he didn’t remember the incident, so police studied surveillance video and examined Wells’ vehicle, which had body damage, WSB said.
“At the time of the arrest the driver was charged with Hit and Run but the case is still being investigated by the Aggravated Assault Unit,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement on Jan. 25. “The decision on additional charges will be made by the investigators and DA’s office.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Driver ran over man in bar parking lot, then returned to bar weeks later, GA cops say."
