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Published Thursday, August 21, 2008 in Local

Illegal immigrant without license charged in wreck

By Amy Lott

The Times-Herald

Union City Police officials say a Palmetto man is now in custody for his alleged role in a racing incident early Tuesday morning on Interstate 85 in south Fulton County that left one woman injured and countless commuters stranded.

According to Media Relations Officer George Louth, Alvaro Gollardo, 24, turned himself in around 8 p.m. Tuesday night and was subsequently charged with racing, reckless driving, failure to stop and render aid, driving without a license and felony serious injury by motor vehicle. Louth said Gollardo, an illegal immigrant, was reportedly racing his black Mitsubishi Eclipse against another vehicle -- what witnesses say looked like a white Dodge Neon -- at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour shortly before 6 a.m. on I-85 northbound. When he attempted to change lanes, Gollardo clipped the rear of a Ford Explorer driven by 61-year-old Fayette County woman Linda Wiglesworth just south of Exit 64/SR 138/Jonesboro Road.

The sports utility vehicle reportedly overturned, slid into the guard rail and then skidded back across the interstate to strike the median. Wiglesworth, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was trapped inside, Louth said. Another vehicle reportedly ran into the overturned Explorer.

Louth said transportation by air ambulance was impossible Tuesday morning because of fog at nearby Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Wiglesworth was eventually extracted and driven by emergency services personnel to Atlanta Medical Center, where she remains in stable condition.

Gollardo abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene on foot after the accident occurred, according to Louth. No evidence of alcohol was found in his empty vehicle.

Louth said police have no leads on the Dodge Neon, whose driver never stopped. Any Coweta drivers who remember seeing this vehicle Tuesday morning may contact Union City Police at 770-964-1333.

The accident snarled traffic for hours, delaying many Coweta drivers heading to work in Atlanta.