A Georgia man is facing criminal charges after refusing to stop during a traffic accident because the two women he hit were Black.
According to WSB-TV Atlanta, last Monday, a Cobb County man allegedly pulled a gun on two women and a child while in traffic. The incident reportedly happened following a crash in Marietta involving Asia Lewis and Kimberly Carter who were headed home after spending the day with their 1-year-old godson.
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The two women later told Cobb County authorities that the driver who hit them refused to pull over and exchange information. Instead, he reached for his handgun.
“He grabbed his gun and just put it on his dash, like he was trying to scare us or something,” recalled Lewis.
Carter, who was already recovering from a leg injury at the time, said they did their best to de-escalate the situation.
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“I yelled out, ‘You don’t have to do all that, we’re not pointing a gun at you, or doing anything to you, we’re just trying to let you know that you hit my car,’” she said.
The driver, later identified as 59-year-old Stephen Abbot, and he called the police at virtually the same time that they did.
“I don’t know who these people are. I have no idea what they’re doing, but I am not going to stop in traffic for two Black people in a beat-up old car,” confessed Abbot to the dispatcher.
Responding officers arrested Abbot approximately nine miles away from the crash and charged him with misdemeanor hit-and-run and pointing a gun.
“We shouldn’t be treated differently because we’re black,” said Lewis who is seeking to be reimbursed for damages. Abbott is currently out on bond.