COLUMBUS – A pedestrian was critically injured when he was reportedly hit by a car driven by a teenager from Michigan who was fleeing from a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Tuesday afternoon on the Southeast Side.
Deputies were in pursuit of the Chevrolet Cruze, which was reported stolen in Michigan, northbound in the southbound lanes of Hamilton Road at 2:30 p.m. when the car struck Arthur Smith III, who was crossing the road from east to west side south of Winchester Pike, Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said.
The car, driven by 16-year-old Ramadhan Muridi, of Lansing, Mich., drove off the left side of the road, returned to the roadway and turned eastbound onto Winchester Pike, driving through and drove through some yards before coming to a stop, Baldwin said.
Mundi and four other juveniles in the car jumped out and fled on foot but were apprehended, Baldwin said.
Smith was taken to Grant Medical Center by Madison Township paramedics and was listed in critical condition, Baldwin said
Muridi was charged with fleeing, hit-skip, and receiving stolen property, all felonies.
Baldwin says several credit cards and a credit card skimmer were also located.
Drugs and alcohol may have played a role in the incident, he said.
It is not known whether Mundi and his passengers were wearing seat belts.
This incident remains under investigation.