Girl leaving bus struck by hit-and-run driver

Coweta woman, 43, arrested, faces DUI and other charges.

A Coweta County woman is facing DUI and hit-andrun charges after a 6-yearold girl was hit just after getting off a school bus Monday afternoon.

The driver was identified as Gloria Blevins, 43, of Newnan, police Deputy Chief Mark Cooper said. Blevins was arrested at her home soon after the incident.

Blevins is charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, not stopping for a school bus and passing in a no-passing zone. She’s being held in the Coweta County Jail.

According to police, the girl, identified as “Lulu” Pedrick, left the bus, went to the curb and waited for the bus driver to signal her across the street.

After the girl began to cross the street, a Hummer 2 came from around a curve, changed lanes into oncoming traffic and passed two stopped cars and the bus.

The bus driver attempted to stop the child and the vehicle but couldn’t get the girl’s attention, and the driver continued past the bus, according to a news release.

When the child stepped out from the front of the bus to cross the street, the vehicle hit the girl with the front passenger side bumper, police said. The driver continued into the neighborhood.

After first responders arrived, the girl was flown to a hospital, according to the release. She is out of surgery for a broken leg, according to Channel 2 Action News.

A resident told police a vehicle matching the description was at a home in the neighborhood. Officers found it and determined by damage to the vehicle and witness testimony that it was the one that hit the girl.