A Georgia man accused of crashing into a 9-year-old girl playing in her front yard said that he only did so because he was fighting off an armed carjacker.
The crash happened in Lithonia on March 29.
Gabriel Jabri Fordham, 28, was arrested after surrendering to police on April 2.
Video footage showed a driver in a 2017 Ford Fusion speeding down a street before slamming into LaDerihanna Holmes, who was playing with her friend.
NEW OVERNIGHT: Channel 2 was there as the driver in a hit-and-run of a 9-year-old playing in her yard turned himself in – https://t.co/RF7iqmoNDX pic.twitter.com/hzswegl564
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) April 3, 2019
Fordham’s attorney Ryan Williams said that Fordham was driving the car but that he never meant to hit the girls.
“Someone jumped in his vehicle with a pistol, put the gun to his face, made him drive, and the whole time my client was driving, he was kind of directing the path,” Williams told WSB-TV.
The crash occurred when Fordham tried to fight off the person, his lawyer claimed. He said the passenger seen in video footage of the crash was the carjacker.
“My client tried to take the gun from him, the guy hits him in the face, my client blacks out, and that’s why you see the full-fledged force of them going through a stop sign,” Williams said.
And his client meant to stay at the scene but chose to flee when someone came out of the house and made threats against him, Williams said.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officers said Fordham was traveling at a high rate of speed when he slammed into the girls and a mailbox outside the house on Cherokee Valley Drive.
Jail records show that Fordham was arrested multiple times dating back to 2008; previous charges include aggravated assault, burglary, and forgery.
“The only reason I woke up is because I heard screaming.”
EXCLUSIVE:
While one victim remains in the hospital, the other victim in the DeKalb County Hit and Run Crash, speaks out about the accident and the search for the suspects.
I’ll have her incredible story, next.@wsbtv pic.twitter.com/1HzrQbYwEE— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) April 2, 2019
LaDerihanna was still in the hospital late Tuesday.
Chris Stewart, her lawyer, said that LaDerihanna, “has a long road to recovery and learning to walk again.”
The family’s house, he added, “has a huge hole in it and it’s freezing.”
Warning: Footage contains disturbing images.
Got my lil miracle baby to smile ???? She did so great today in ICU and during her mental testing! ???????????????? #LaDerihannaHolmes #miracleshappen pic.twitter.com/Fng1JDxxs9
— L. Chris Stewart Esq (@chrisstewartesq) April 1, 2019
God is so great. There is no explanation on how my client is alive. I sat with her and can’t believe my eyes and though her road to health will be long, she’s alive. #miracle
Please turn yourself in to the teens who ran.https://t.co/211HxIGReU pic.twitter.com/9WEBUBh1jD— L. Chris Stewart Esq (@chrisstewartesq) April 1, 2019
Her friend, Alaysia Phillips, suffered an injury to her foot and is using crutches to get around.
Holmes’s family said in a statement on Wednesday they were pleased that “the driver of the vehicle who struck her while she was playing in her front yard has been identified and arrested on a host of charges.”
They said they hoped police could identify and detain the passenger in the car.
