DUNWOODY, Ga. — An 8-year-old girl was killed in a car crash on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, with the driver accused of driving under the influence.
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The crash occurred as Maryah Johnson’s family was leaving an apartment complex in Dunwoody on Saturday night when they were hit by a pickup truck. Six people were in the Honda Civic, including four children.
Maryah was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where she died the next morning.
“These tears, they will never stop,” Latazamisha Nunn, Maryah’s mother, told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan.
Another of the children remains in the hospital with a skull fracture.
Dunwoody police have identified the driver as Jose Alejandro Cuahuizo-Varela. He is facing several charges, including homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and hit and run.
The mother said she came face to face with the man now charged.
“I just told him, ‘Look what you did to my baby,’” she said.
Nunn said her oldest daughter stopped the man when he tried to run away.
“You tried to run and leave from the scene, you was found in the bushes, you know you did wrong,” Nunn said.
The mother is holding on to memories while still dealing with the tragic loss. She showed a letter Maryah had just brought home from school with results from dance tryouts, showing she had made the team.
“I can never turn back what happened to my baby. The only thing I can do is get justice for my baby,” she said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
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