Driver who slammed into a nine-year-old girl who was playing in her front yard before fleeing the scene hands himself in – Gabriel Fordham, 28, ‘claims he was distracted, fighting off an armed carjacker inside the vehicle’
Gabriel Fordham was arrested Tuesday but his attorney says ‘someone jumped in his vehicle with a pistol, put the gun to his face, made him driver
Fordham, 28, has since been charged with failure to maintain lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, reckless driving, hit and run and serious injury by vehicle
LaDerihanna Holmes was playing with her 11-year-old friend outside her home in Lithonia, on March 29, when she was hit
The car blew through a stop sign, jumped a curb, then slammed the girls into the house
LaDerihanna miraculously survived the crash, suffering severe injuries, while her friend Aisha Phillips, suffered a broken leg
The two men in the vehicle were captured on camera slipping out of the black sedan and running away
Following appeals by the Holmes family, the driver turned himself in on Tuesday but claims he was fighting off an armed carjacker when he jumped the curb and critically injured the girls
Gabriel Fordham turned himself in on Tuesday but claims he was fighting off an armed carjacker when he jumped the curb and critically injured a nine-year-old girl playing in her parents front yard
The suspect in a hit and run crash which saw a nine-year-old girl who was playing in her front yard seriously injured has been arrested.
Gabriel Fordham, 28, turned himself in on Tuesday but claims he was fighting off an armed carjacker inside the car when the incident occurred, WSB reports.
His attorney, Ryan Williams, said: ‘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.’
LaDerihanna Holmes was outside her home in Lithonia, Georgia with another girl around 7pm on Friday when the car careered straight toward them.
Distressing video shows the second girl running off in one direction after looking back and seeing the oncoming vehicle.
LaDerihanna runs in the other direction, but the black sedan blows past a stop sign and jumps the curb before running her over and slamming into her home.
Gabriel Fordham turned himself in on Tuesday but claims he was fighting off an armed carjacker when the incident occurred. He has since been charged with failure to maintain lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, reckless driving, hit and run and serious injury by vehicle.
‘There is no explanation on how my client is alive,’ Laderihanna’s attorney, Chris Stewart wrote on social media. ‘I sat with her and can’t believe me eyes. Though her road to health will be long, she’s alive.’
LaDerihanna Holmes, nine, [right] was outside her home in Lithonia, Georgia with another girl around 7pm on Friday when a car mowed them down
Surveillance footage captured the horrific moment Gabriel Fordham plowed into LaDerihanna [running, right]
Hit and run driver Gabriel Fordham has since been charged with failure to maintain lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, reckless driving, hit and run and serious injury by vehicle
Surveillance footage captured one of the two suspects fleeing from the scene, exiting from the car’s passenger side and running across the front lawn as LaDerihanna’s family rushed over to help her.
Fordham has since been charged with failure to maintain lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, reckless driving, hit and run and serious injury by vehicle.
His attorney says he is ‘apologetic and he wants to help this family get closure to this issue’.
Fordham has faced previous charges including aggravated battery, aggravated assault, burglary, forgery and probation violation, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
LaDerihanna was taken to the hospital in critical condition. She sustained a skull fracture with laceration and a broken pelvic bone in three places, according to the family’s GoFundMe page.
Her right heart valve was also leaking. Chris Stewart’s, the family’s lawyer, said it is a miracle she survived.
‘There is no explanation on how my client is alive,’ he wrote on social media. ‘I sat with her and can’t believe me eyes. Though her road to health will be long, she’s alive.’
The black sedan blows past a stop sign and jumps the curb before running her over and slamming into her home
Surveillance footage captured one of the two suspects fleeing from the scene, exiting from the car’s passenger side and running across the front lawn
The other girl who was playing in the front lawn with LaDerihanna’s friend, 11-year-old, Alayshia Phillips, sustained a foot injury.
Authorities had said that the owner of the vehicle told investigators she was at work at the time of the crash and had given the car to her boyfriend.
The suspect and his girlfriend are since said to have contacted police following the crash and have been negotiating a surrender ever since.
In the shocking clip the person in the white pants is the the robber who attacked Fordham, his attorney claims.
Williams added: ‘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 fledge force of them going through a stop sign.’
Fordham only fled the scene when he saw someone come out of the house with a gun and making threats, Williams argues.
He said: ‘With emotions rising, he had no opportunity to stay there, without possibly being harmed. He has not been trying to hide in the shadows.’
LaDerihanna’s family then rushed out of the home and ran to help her following the crash 
LaDerihanna (pictured in the hospital after the crash) sustained a skull fracture with laceration and a broken pelvic bone in three placesCharlette Bolton, LaDerihanna’s mother, had issued a plea directly to the driver.
‘You know what you did. You didn’t try to help my baby,’ she said. ‘You almost killed my baby and I hope you do the right thing and turn yourself in.’
Bolton said she is trying to stay ‘strong’ for her daughter.
‘I just want everybody to pray for LaDerihanna,’ she said. ‘The community loves her, her school loves her, her friends love her. I just want the people involved to be caught.’
Chris Stewart’s, the family’s attorney, posted a photo of LaDerihanna smiling with him from her hospital bed on Monday morning 
LaDerihanna’s family shared the security footage with the hope that the driver would come forward and turn themselves in
Charlette Bolton, LaDerihanna’s mother,issued a plea directly to the driver. ‘You know what you did. You didn’t try to help my baby,’ she said
Chris Stewart’s, the family’s lawyer, said it is a miracle LaDerihanna survived the crash.The gofundme crowd funding organized by Stewart for LaDerihanna bills as of Wednesday had raised $45,000 of the $75,000 goal.
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