A 38-year-old man with autism was left with internal bleeding and in need of emergency femur surgery after a driver struck him while he tried to cross State Route 138 near the 400 block of Magnolia Circle in Clayton County, then drove off into the night. Christopher Gutierrez managed to walk home afterward and tell his family he had been hit by a car, not realizing how serious his injuries were until the pain became unbearable.
Gutierrez had just left a Shell gas station and was attempting to cross State Route 138 when he was struck, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The driver briefly stopped and even activated the vehicle's emergency lights before leaving the scene, the station reported. There is no crosswalk at the spot where Gutierrez was trying to cross, and FOX 5 reported that police are searching for a silver SUV.
Gutierrez's family told FOX 5 he regularly walks from his home at the Tara Bridge Apartments on Magnolia Circle to the Shell gas station across the street, a routine trip that turned into a medical emergency. Surveillance video reviewed by the station shows Gutierrez wearing a red shirt and preparing to cross the roadway on the night of Oct. 1, 2024, and another driver reportedly helped him get across the street before the vehicle that struck him made contact.
Family Called 911 After Realizing Something Was Wrong
Gutierrez made it back home that night and told his family he had been hit by a car, according to the same FOX 5 report. It wasn't until he began complaining of severe pain that his family called 911. He was taken to an area hospital, where doctors discovered he was suffering from internal bleeding.
A family member identified as Amanda told the station that Gutierrez needed two blood transfusions and was undergoing emergency surgery on his femur. Amanda is asking the driver who hit Gutierrez to come forward and take responsibility, per the station's report. CrimeWatchAtlanta also shared the case in an Instagram post using the hashtags #FOX5Atlanta and #CrimeWatchAtlanta.
No Suspect Identified As Investigation Continues
Clayton County police are investigating the hit-and-run, and anyone with information is asked to contact the department. No suspect, vehicle description beyond the unconfirmed silver SUV detail, or arrest has been reported in connection with the case.
Pedestrian safety has been a persistent concern in the county. A 2018 crash on Tara Boulevard at Georgia 138 shut down southbound lanes for hours after at least one vehicle struck a pedestrian there, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A pedestrian safety plan from the Georgia Department of Transportation found Clayton County had an 84% pedestrian-crash injury rate, higher than the statewide average, with 5% of all pedestrian crashes in Georgia resulting in at least one fatality. The GDOT Crash Data Dashboard allows the public to track pedestrian-involved crashes across the state by location and type.
For now, Gutierrez's family is left waiting for answers while he recovers from surgery. The driver who left him bleeding on State Route 138 remains unidentified, and Clayton County police have not released further updates on the investigation.
