Suspect Arrested in Hit-and-Run Case in Athens, Ga.

William Wilson Heaton, Jr., 22, of Rydal, the suspect in last month's hit-and-run accident on Oak Street, surrendered himself to Clarke County law enforcement at the Clarke County Jail on Wednesday evening.

He has been charged with Hit-and-Run, DUI, Serious Injury by Vehicle, Failure to Maintain Lane, Reckless Driving, and Open Container, according to Athens Clarke County Police.

Police claim that Heaton's Mazda pickup hit Kennesaw University student Emily Bowman, 19, around 3am February 16, as a friend and she walked home from another friend's birthday party. They were walking on the grassy shoulder, investigators believe, when Heaton's Mazda pickup left the road and then hit Bowman from behind as he returned the vehicle to the road. He left the area and abandoned the truck, police believe.

Though he now lives in Rydal, Heaton is no stranger to the Athens area. Records show he played football as a junior at Oconee High School.

Heaton has extended family members in Bartow County.

According to a story in the Athens Banner Herald, police spent countless hours after the accident studying video footage from downtown Athens and from various establishments in downtown, trying to establish Heaton's whereabouts. Some footage shows the pickup leaving the scene of the accident; other shows him in downtown bars, the story says.

A bond hearing has been scheduled for Thursday morning at 8:30 in Clarke County Superior Court.

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