Police: Driver Who Caused Wreck Said 'He Wanted to Die'

Police say the driver who caused a Sunday evening crash near Norcross was trying to kill himself.

Norcross PD said in a news release that Petronila Bautista-Hernandez, 35, of Duluth ran a stoplight at Holcomb Bridge Road and Buford Highway and struck another vehicle around 7:30 p.m. Sunday. There were no major injures reported.

“Bautista-Hernandez told officers initially that he was distracted by a pedestrian on the side of the road and could not stop for the red light, however ultimately said he was trying to kill himself by driving through the intersection at a high rate of speed,” Norcross PD said in the news release. “Bautista-Hernandez said his girlfriend had stopped talking to him and he wanted to die.”

WSB-TV reported the other vehicle was a minivan with four family members inside. All four were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Bautista-Hernandez was charged with aggravated assault, DUI, hit and run, driving without a license, failure to maintain lane and failure to obey traffic control device.