Atlanta lawyer runs man over after he thought golf ball hit his car, police say

ATLANTA (WGHP/CNN) -- An Atlanta attorney faces a murder charge after striking a 60-year-old man with his car, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said Friday.

Bryan Schmitt, 48, purposely steered his car into Hamid Jahangard, who died two days later, according to the affidavit for Schmitt's arrest.

Schmitt believed Jahangard, a real estate investor, had thrown a golf ball at his 2011 Mercedes CLS550, according to the police.

In addition to a murder charge, Schmitt faces felony murder and aggravated assault charges, the DA's office stated.

The fatal incident occurred during the evening of July 30 in the driveway of a rental property owned by Jahangard in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, authorities said. Jahangard was waiting for painters to arrive.

In a statement included in the police reports, Schmitt, a Sandy Springs resident, told officers he was driving home around 5:15 p.m. and saw a man standing by the side of the road next to trash cans.

“He made a throwing motion with his arm, and I saw a white object strike my car,” Schmitt told detectives.

Schmitt said he made a U-turn and drove up to the man.

A review of footage from a neighbor's home security system showed Jahangard walking down the driveway and standing at the bottom near the garbage cans, a detective wrote in a supplemental report to the criminal complaint. Schmitt drove by, braked, backed up and remained stationary for about 25 seconds before making a left turn and accelerating, the detective wrote.

“You cannot see impact,” the detective wrote. “Victim Hamid (Jahangard) is slammed to the ground, head bounces twice off pavement and his body is rotating,” the detective wrote.

A service vehicle came upon the scene as it was happening, and police were able to review surveillance footage captured from the vehicle. That footage did “not match” the account that Schmitt gave to authorities, police say.

The police report said, “The speed used to vault the garbage can, lift the front end of his car up and to slam the victim down so hard it causes a massive skull fracture where blood is squirting out his ears seconds after impact is not an accident.”

Jahangard's brother, Manoucher Jahangard, told police they were talking on the phone when the crash happened. Manoucher Jahangard said he heard his brother say, “I did not throw anything. I did not throw anything, get out of my face,” before the line went dead, another supplemental report says.

A doctor said Jahangard arrived at the hospital with a massive skull fracture, swelling on his brain and multiple leg fractures, according to the court file.