Newton Citizen

Photo by Kristen Ralph

CONYERS -- Traffic stalled on Interstate 20 on Friday at lunchtime as law enforcement and emergency responders cleared a three-vehicle wreck and searched for an apparent hit-and-run suspect.

All eastbound lanes on Interstate 20 were closed for at least 45 minutes from the accident that occurred just east of the West Avenue exit, according to Rockdale County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Jodi Shupe.

Shupe said a purple Camaro traveling eastbound reportedly clipped a white Taurus at about 11:30 a.m. and caused the Taurus to hit the fence off the roadway and spin out of control. An unidentified woman was driving the Taurus.

"Her vehicle then continued to flip onto the driver's side," Shupe said in Friday's RCSO press release.

After swiping the Taurus, the driver of the Camaro struck an abandoned black pickup truck sitting in the interstate's emergency lane. The Camaro rolled until coming to a final stop in a ditch, then caught on fire.

The driver of the Camaro fled the scene on foot before the car caught on fire, according to eyewitnesses. The witnesses told authorities the suspect had visible head injuries as he ran across Iris Drive and towards Smyrna Road.

The female driver of the Taurus was uninjured from the wreck, but her passenger had minor injuries. The passenger, identified as a Covington resident, was transported by ground ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center.

"Deputies searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect," Shupe said in the press release.

The suspect was described as a light-skinned black man wearing a white T-shirt and black pants.

"Local hospitals were notified with a description of the male suspect in the event he seeks treatment," Shupe said.