A little boy has a broken leg and a man is in jail after a Cedartown incident Sunday night where the child was struck by a car, according to police.

The child, Elijah Diamond, 8, was struck by a car around 9 p.m. Sunday night as he was walking his bike off the roadside on Jefferson Street, said Cedartown Assistant Police Chief Jamie Newsome.

Darius Jamal Strong, 22, of Irwin Street, Cedartown, was booked Monday morning around 2 a.m. with charges of serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, according to Newsome.

Strong could face additional charges, he said.

Newsome said a preliminary investigation indicates that Strong was driving down Jefferson Street when he allegedly left the road, struck Diamond and fled the scene.

The Cedartown Fire Department, police and EMS responded. Diamond was airlifted to an Atlanta hospital where Newsome said he had surgery to repair a severely broken leg.

The child had to have a rod put in his leg but should recover, he said.

Cedartown police asked the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) to investigate the incident scene while city officers looked for the driver, according to Newsome.

Officers soon found the car believed to be involved abandoned at the dead end of Davenport Street. A police check revealed the car belonged to Strong.

“Several of our officers knew Mr. Strong and started going to places he might frequent,” Newsome said.

He said Strong heard police were looking for him, so he called the station and turned himself in.