Police identified the victim as 18-year-old Rhyann Pilgram. They have not identified the injured 16-year-old.
Police said Pilgram and his friend were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when a minor traffic accident sent the pickup into them at the intersection of Bankhead Highway and Somerset Place in Carrollton.
Investigators said a vehicle being driven by 18-year-old Lillian Alvarez made a left turn in front of a pickup driven by another teenager, James Mills. Mills’ truck veered off the roadway and over the curb where Pilgram and his friend were waiting to cross the intersection. Both were pinned underneath the pickup truck. Pilgram was killed.
Channel 2s Tony Thomas arrived just as investigators were gathering evidence at the scene.
Police Capt. Jamison Sailors told Thomas the teens were “just standing at the crosswalk. We’re not sure if they were going to cross the street or what, but they were just standing there.”
A few moments later, Thomas caught up with the driver police say caused the accident. As Lillian Alvarez walked into her familys apartment, she said she saw the other car in involved in the accident but wouldn’t comment any more.
“She got a light but the other guy come the other way in the big truck,” her father, Porfirio, said.
Alvarez doesn’t believe his daughter did anything wrong. “Are you worried the police may charge her with something?” Thomas asked. “No, I don’t think so,” Alvarez replied.
Investigators told Channel 2 Action News they will meet with the district attorney on Monday or Tuesday and likely file charges against Alvarez. Those charges could include some type of manslaughter.
Authorities have not identified the 16-year-old injured in the accident but said he was flown by medical helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center where he could be released over the weekend.
Pilgrams family told Thomas Rhyann was a senior at Carrollton High and was scheduled to graduate next month. An aunt said the teenager loved music and wanted to study welding after high school.
