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Lottery winner apparently beaten, left for dead near downtown Cumming
Family says 59-year-old recently won large sum of money from scratch off
beating map
Charles Barrett, 59, was taken off life support in Northside Hospital-Forsyths intensive care unit, where he was transported after an off-duty paramedic reportedly found him on in front of the TitleMax Title Pawn shop shortly after 10 p.m. April 22, according to Cumming Police Casey Tatum.

CUMMING – A man who was critically injured after apparently being beaten and left in the middle of Atlanta Highway (Hwy. 9) just off the Cumming square Saturday night succumbed to his injuries Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Charles Barrett, 59, was taken off life support in Northside Hospital-Forsyth’s intensive care unit, where he was transported after Chris Gudaitis, an off-duty paramedic for Cobb County, found him in front of the TitleMax Title Pawn shop shortly after 10 p.m. April 22.

“It was pouring rain out,” Gudaitis said. “I was sitting in the back of my friend’s car and he was driving us back from a wedding, and he slams on the brakes and yells back asking if I was a paramedic and I said yeah. I saw two Hispanic guys with [Barrett] lying face down in the street and noticed he had contusions and abrasions to the right side of his face.

“The [men] helped roll him over at that point, and I checked and he was not breathing and did not have a pulse, so I started doing [chest] compressions, probably within 30 seconds of getting there. I was probably doing them for about five minutes until the [police] arrived and they kind of let me do my thing until EMS arrived.”

Cumming Police Chief Casey Tatum said his agency has been investigating the incident since Saturday but enlisted the help of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office late Wednesday morning.

Though Tatum said he could not release much information about the incident, he confirmed Gudaitis was performing CPR on Barrett when officers and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived on scene.

Barrett’s family members, including his aunt and cousins, told the Forsyth County News he had recently won a large sum of money off a scratch ticket and that when he was found, his bank cards were gone and had been used as recently as Monday.

They also said it appeared as if Barrett had been beaten, which Gudaitis said he also suspected.

“Initially, I thought he was hit by car, but other than the contusions and abrasions on his face, it didn’t look as bad as he might if he was hit by a car, though no one was around to witness anything,” Gudaitis said.

Tatum said he could not comment on the cause of death and added while the law enforcement agencies do have leads, the incident remains under investigation.

The sheriff’s office said Wednesday afternoon they are not currently releasing any information related to the incident.

“It’s a tragic story with a tragic outcome, but it makes me feel [better] knowing I could help give [Barrett’s] family a way to say goodbye and not leave him dead on the side of the road,” Gudaitis said. “I [helped] because I just feel like it’s the human thing to do. If someone’s in distress and someone needs help, anyone should stop and help, no matter what they do for a career.”