A Gainesville teenager is now facing charges after his car smashed into an apartment building, seriously wounding an 8-year-old girl, and then fleeing the scene. Erickson Mondesir, 19, has been charged with hit and run, and serious injury by vehicle following the incident, which occurred at Lenox Park Apartments on Tuesday. As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, authorities surmise the collision was inadvertent, yet they condemn Mondesir's choice to evade the scene without providing assistance to the injured child.
Channel 2’s Tom Jones was on-site in Gainesville and spoke with a neighbor about the aftermath. “The next thing you know, we see the mother of the child screaming and hollering, and the rest of the family members, bringing the kid out. Her leg was broken,” the neighbor described in an interview with WSBTV. Residents were stunned by the incident, as evidenced by a video showing the startling moments after the vehicle crashed through the apartment wall with the young girl still inside.
Lt. Justin Martin of the Gainesville Police explained that upon crashing, Mondesir unsuccessfully attempted to extract the car from the debris. "He tried to get the vehicle out of the apartment first, to remove it from the scene. When that didn't work, he left on foot," Martin told WSBTV. The fugitive driver was promptly pursued by the neighbors and eventually pinpointed by law enforcement.
Although officials believe the crash was unintentional—likely caused by confusing the accelerator with the brake pedal—they have condemned Mondesir's decision to abandon the injured parties. The young girl was airlifted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital; her condition and name have not yet been released. Mondesir’s charges underscore the consequences of fleeing from an accident rather than addressing the human toll of the error.
