The driver of a SUV that struck a Gillsville teenager walking on Harmony Church Road will not be charged, authorities said. 

Kevin Elizalde, 16, of Gainesville, was walking east about 8:30 p.m. on April 17 near Harmony Hall Drive.

Lea Tole, 55, of Oakwood, was driving east in a Toyota RAV4. Tole told Georgia State Patrol that she saw a gray object, thought to be a trash can, and tried to avoid it.

The SUV hit Elizalde with its right front, throwing him into a mailbox. The 16-year-old landed in a ditch.

Elizalde was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in critical condition.  Hospital officials said Tuesday, April 25, that Elizalde is still in critical condition.

A girl walking with Elizalde, whose name was redacted in the report, said they had left the gas station after buying snacks and drinks. The girl said that Elizalde told her to walk on the grass “and that he was walking on the white fog line,” according to the state patrol report.

A witness driving behind Tole said she saw the crash but also thought it was a trash can “due to the black bags and debris that was in the roadway.”

No citations were listed for Tole.