Crime & Safety

DeKalb Police: Suspect in Hit-And-Run Death of Toddler Has Fled Country

Police say a man from El Salvador drove a truck that ran over two children near the Tucker Walmart. A two-year-old boy died from his injuries and the suspect has left the country.

The man who is accused of driving a truck that ran over two children, killing one, near the Walmart on Tucker Norcross Road last weekend has reportedly fled the country.

DeKalb County Police said Concepcion Cruz boarded a flight Tuesday from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport bound for his home country of El Salvador, reports WSB TV.

Cruz is accused of hitting Caleb Lindsey, 2, and his 4-year-old sister, Meyaria, near Walmart on Saturday. Police say the driver hit the children as they were standing next to the road with their mother about 5 p.m. Saturday.

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WSB TV reports the driver pulled up to the stop sign, then turned onto Tucker Norcross Road. As he did, his vehicle ran over both of the children. Both victims were taken to Scottish Rite Hospital, where Caleb later died.

The children’s mother, Vashiti Lindsey, told WSB she screamed for the driver to stop after the incident.

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“He murdered my baby in cold blood. He ran over my children like they were rocks on the street,” Lindsey told the TV station.

Police said Cruz is a resident alien from El Salvador and is also on the do-not-fly list. Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are now involved in the search.


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