DeKalb County mother demands justice after hit-and-run injures 7-year-old daughter

Driver hits daughter and takes off

DeKalb County police say they need your help finding the driver who hit a seven-year-old and kept going. The little girl survived her injuries.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County mother is pleading for answers after her 7-year-old daughter was struck by a car in front of their home earlier this spring, and the driver fled the scene.

What they're saying:

The incident occurred May 4 on Fields Drive, near Panola Road. Rashonda Vandervort said her daughter, Ramia, who is autistic, had been playing outside with neighborhood children when a ball rolled into the street. As Ramia went to retrieve it, she was hit by a passing vehicle.

"The ball went into the road and she just went after the ball and the car just came and smacked her," Vandervort said.

Surveillance video captured the moment of impact and Ramia’s cries. Vandervort said she was inside cooking when she heard the sound.

"I was cooking and I ran in the house to turn the cornbread off and just that quick I heard a loud boom and I heard her crying," she recalled. "As I went to go pick her up, she just fell and collapsed down on the floor. I had a bunch of blood on my elbow. She hit her so hard that she busted her head."

The driver initially stopped but then attempted to leave the scene, according to Vandervort.

"When I realized that she was pulling off, I did grab the lady’s shirt to try and stop her," she said.

Vandervort said the woman claimed she had just purchased the vehicle and didn’t have insurance. The car bore temporary "test drive" tags that investigators later determined were fake and fraudulently labeled with a Nissan of Conyers dealership name.

"They were able to identify the vehicle; however, she had fake test drive plates that belonged to Nissan of Conyers and they went to Conyers and they said they didn’t distribute that plate and that it was fraudulent," Vandervort said.

Ramia was hospitalized at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Arthur M. Blank Hospital, where she was treated for head injuries, swelling, bruises, and received both staples and stitches. She has since been released and is recovering at home.

"I just hope she doesn’t find peace because how dare you hit a 7-year-old and leave them in the middle of the street like that. It’s very inhumane," Vandervort said. "I hope you don’t sleep at night. How dare you. What if that was your family?"

What's next:

DeKalb County Police continue to investigate. Vandervort hopes surveillance footage and community security cameras will help identify the suspect. She is asking anyone with information to come forward.