7-Year-Old Left To Die In Hit-And-Run While Walking On Highway At Night

A 7-year-old child in Georgia was left to die after being struck by a passing vehicle while walking on a six-lane highway in the middle of the night, Clayton County Police Department said.

The police responded to a report of a hit and run northbound at Southside Commercial Pkwy in Jonesboro, Georgia, on Sept. 4, and located the deceased child in the roadway, as per a news release by Clayton County Police Department. Details on the victim's gender and identity were not shared.

The police have not specified if the child was accompanied by someone or walking alone on the highway at 2:15 a.m., or even why the child was on the busy road at that time of the night.

There were no witnesses to the incident, Miami Herald reported.

According to reports, the child and their mother were staying at the nearby Magnolia Bay Hotel and Suites when the accident occurred but the mother refuses to speak to anyone, WSBTV reported.

While the investigation has begun, the cops said they received no leads on the identity of the driver involved in the accident. The officials are now urging the public to come forward if they have any information about the incident.

"We are desperately asking for the public's assistance. If you were traveling on Tara Blvd around that time, you may not have realized you hit someone. We are urging you to give us a call if you remember any details while you were traveling in that area," the news release said.

"If you have any information in reference to this fatal hit and run, please call the Clayton County Police Department at 770-473-3983 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS," the department added.

In a similar incident reported in New York in August, a 4-year-old autistic boy was fatally struck by an SUV after he broke away from his mother as the family returned home from his elder brother's funeral in Queens. The child, identified as Domantea McDonald, had sustained "severe head trauma and internal injuries" from the accident and was pronounced dead at the hospital. McDonald's 32-year-old mother also suffered a foot injury as she attempted to save the child.