A Sharpsburg man faced multiple charges earlier this week when he damaged a vehicle while conducting a road test after the car had new tires installed at a Peachtree City tire store.
Robert James Hammond, 22, was charged with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to maintain lane, according to Maj. James Yarbrough with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.
Yarbrough said the incident occurred shortly after noon on Dec. 12 when Hammond, employed at the Tires Plus store on Ga. Highway 54 West in Peachtree City, was conducting a test drive with the 2008 Mustang GT after the car had been outfitted with new tires.
Yarbrough said Hammond left the store and travelled along Hwy. 54 to the intersection with Ga. Highway 34 a short distance away in Coweta County.
Hammond made a u-turn at the traffic light and subsequently lost control of the vehicle, Yarbrough said, adding that the car left the roadway and struck a sign in front of the nearby Collectors Corner store.
Yarbrough said Hammond negotiated the car back onto the road and returned it to the tire store rather than staying at the location where the incident occurred.
Coweta deputies were alerted and located the Mustang at the Tires Plus store. The left front tire had been flattened and there was damage to the car from the impact of the sign, Yarbrough said.
Hammond, who told deputies that he did not mean to accelerate the car so quickly after the u-turn, was taken into custody at the scene, Yarbrough said.
