ATLANTA - "He loved life," says Caleb Sorohan's grandmother, "He had a very infectious smile, lots of friends and it was just a tragic loss for all of us."
Sallie Sorohan of Dahlonega has turned grief over the death of her 18-year-old grandson into a crusade to save others.
Nine days before Christmas, the college freshman's car crossed the centerline of a rural Morgan County road while he was texting.
"He apparently was busy with his hands not on the wheel and ran into a truck that was transporting six or seven horses and was killed instantly," his grandmother tells 11 Alive News.
Georgia State Troopers found Caleb's cell phone in his lap, showing that he'd sent or received six text messages in the last seven minutes of his life.
"His grandmother asked me to introduce this particular bill," says State Representative Amos Amerson.
The Dahlonega lawmaker has now been joined by fellow Republican Representative Allen Peake of Macon who believe it's become a dangerous crisis on our roads.
"It's an extreme hazard," Rep. Peake tells 11 Alive News, "and empirical studies have shown that while you're texting while driving it's more dangerous and you're more distracted than even while you're drunk."
The lawmakers' bills propose fines of anywhere from $100 to $300, primarily to get everyone's attention.
They know it'll be tough to enforce, but Caleb's grandmother thinks it's worth doing.
"We don't want any other parents or friends or family to have to go through the agony that we have been through with this untimely death of such a wonderful young man," she adds.
Just this week, a study by the National Safety Council estimated that 28% of traffic accidents occur while drivers are talking on cell phones or texting.
If the bills about to be introduced in this year's General Assembly pass, Georgia would become the 20th state to outlaw driving while texting.
In addition to pushing for the law, Caleb Sorohan's family has set up a scholarship fund for students at Morgan County High School.
Source
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Georgia woman, 25, killed in Oconee County 1-car crash
A 25-year-old Georgia woman died after being involved in a one-vehicle accident early Monday morning.
Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis confirmed Monday that Nicole Kristy Hartney was pronounced dead at the scene of an early morning accident on U.S. 76.
Hartney was traveling east on 76 in her 2000 Jeep Cherokee at roughly 2:30 a.m. when she lost control of the vehicle. The jeep went off the right side of the road, back onto the roadway, and overturned several times off the left side of the highway before coming to a stop there, Cpl. Bryan McDougald of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
The posted speed limit on that stretch of highway is 45 miles per hour, but the role of speed in the crash is being investigated, McDougald added.
Hartney, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover, and died at the scene from chest and head trauma prior to EMS arrival, Addis said.
A passerby saw the accident and reported it.
Hartney’s hometown was Alpharetta, Ga., and she graduated from the University of Alabama in 2006 with a degree in communications, according to an online social networking Web site.
No autopsy is scheduled for Hartney, but in accordance with state law, specimens for toxicology analysis will be sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement, Addis said.
Source
Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis confirmed Monday that Nicole Kristy Hartney was pronounced dead at the scene of an early morning accident on U.S. 76.
Hartney was traveling east on 76 in her 2000 Jeep Cherokee at roughly 2:30 a.m. when she lost control of the vehicle. The jeep went off the right side of the road, back onto the roadway, and overturned several times off the left side of the highway before coming to a stop there, Cpl. Bryan McDougald of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said.
The posted speed limit on that stretch of highway is 45 miles per hour, but the role of speed in the crash is being investigated, McDougald added.
Hartney, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover, and died at the scene from chest and head trauma prior to EMS arrival, Addis said.
A passerby saw the accident and reported it.
Hartney’s hometown was Alpharetta, Ga., and she graduated from the University of Alabama in 2006 with a degree in communications, according to an online social networking Web site.
No autopsy is scheduled for Hartney, but in accordance with state law, specimens for toxicology analysis will be sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement, Addis said.
Source
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Bills make texting while driving illegal in Georgia
State Representative Allen Peake, a Republican from Bibb County, wants two points added to your license if you're found guilty of writing, sending or reading a text while driving. Peake admits someone saw him text while driving. That person tracked him down and chastised him. Peake says he felt so guilty that he drafted legislation.
PEAKE: "I can remember having the though of while I've just gone 3 or 4 miles while I sent that text message, I had no idea what was going on around me. I had no idea."
Under Peake's bill, fines would range from 50 to 100 dollars. That's not good enough for Amos Amerson. The Republican from Dahlonega says the maximum fine under his texting while driving bill is 300 dollars. Amerson was inspired by his old teaching friend. That person's grandson died in a serious car accident while driving to Athens this past Christmas holiday.
AMERSON: "He had made six texting messages from the time he left North Georgia to the time he got to Athens. And they concluded he was in the process of texting at the time of his death."
Amerson and Peake say the differences in their bills will be ironed out in committee. That's also where other issues could arise according to law enforcement
officials.
They say the legislature will have to determine how the law will be enforced. Officials wonder if lawmakers would place "texting while driving" under the primary or secondary enforcement category.
If made primary, an officer could pull you over if he or she saw you texting while driving. If made secondary, an officer could pull you over for a traffic violation, for example. If that officer finds evidence that you were also texting while driving, the officer could also write you a ticket for that offense.
Law enforcement official hope texting while driving will fall under primary enforcement in Georgia.
If it doesn't, some officers and lawmakers hope a law would at least scare drivers from texting behind the wheel.
PEAKE: "What I'm hoping is that this will be a deterrent to all of Georgia's citizens to put that cell phone. Don't text. Let's make sure we're safe while we're driving."
PEAKE: "I can remember having the though of while I've just gone 3 or 4 miles while I sent that text message, I had no idea what was going on around me. I had no idea."
Under Peake's bill, fines would range from 50 to 100 dollars. That's not good enough for Amos Amerson. The Republican from Dahlonega says the maximum fine under his texting while driving bill is 300 dollars. Amerson was inspired by his old teaching friend. That person's grandson died in a serious car accident while driving to Athens this past Christmas holiday.
AMERSON: "He had made six texting messages from the time he left North Georgia to the time he got to Athens. And they concluded he was in the process of texting at the time of his death."
Amerson and Peake say the differences in their bills will be ironed out in committee. That's also where other issues could arise according to law enforcement
officials.
They say the legislature will have to determine how the law will be enforced. Officials wonder if lawmakers would place "texting while driving" under the primary or secondary enforcement category.
If made primary, an officer could pull you over if he or she saw you texting while driving. If made secondary, an officer could pull you over for a traffic violation, for example. If that officer finds evidence that you were also texting while driving, the officer could also write you a ticket for that offense.
Law enforcement official hope texting while driving will fall under primary enforcement in Georgia.
If it doesn't, some officers and lawmakers hope a law would at least scare drivers from texting behind the wheel.
PEAKE: "What I'm hoping is that this will be a deterrent to all of Georgia's citizens to put that cell phone. Don't text. Let's make sure we're safe while we're driving."
Monday, February 15, 2010
Legislators to consider outlawing texting while driving
Members of the Georgia Legislature may consider making it illegal for people to send or read text messages on a cell phone while they are driving.
State Rep. Amos Anderson (R-Dahlonega) has filed a bill that would strengthen Georgia’s laws, which require drivers not to engage in any actions that would distract them from driving.
It would specifically address “talking, sending, reading or listening on a wireless telecommunications device” while driving, according to the text of House Bill 945.
According to The Dahlonega Nugget, Amerson’s bill is inspired by the grandmother of a teenager who died in a car accident believed to have been caused because he was using his cell phone.
Caleb Sorohan, an 18-year-old college student from Rutledge, Ga., was home for the Christmas holidays when his 2004 Saturn crossed the center line of a road and collided with a 2008 Toyota Sequoia, apparently without ever hitting the brakes. His cell phone was found in his lap.
Caleb had sent and received a total of six messages in the seven minutes leading up to the collision, the Dahlonega newspaper quoted a state trooper as saying.
If the bill were made a law, it would not apply to the usage of people making a call related to certain emergency situations or the usage of a cell phone by police and firefighters as part of their official duties.
The bill was just introduced on Jan. 14 and must go through several reviews and votes before it could go to a vote by the full House.
State Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) has filed a similar bill, HB 938.
A bill that would have banned text messaging while driving was passed by the House last year but rejected by the Georgia Senate. Currently, 18 states plus the District of Columbia already have laws banning texting while driving.
Source
State Rep. Amos Anderson (R-Dahlonega) has filed a bill that would strengthen Georgia’s laws, which require drivers not to engage in any actions that would distract them from driving.
It would specifically address “talking, sending, reading or listening on a wireless telecommunications device” while driving, according to the text of House Bill 945.
According to The Dahlonega Nugget, Amerson’s bill is inspired by the grandmother of a teenager who died in a car accident believed to have been caused because he was using his cell phone.
Caleb Sorohan, an 18-year-old college student from Rutledge, Ga., was home for the Christmas holidays when his 2004 Saturn crossed the center line of a road and collided with a 2008 Toyota Sequoia, apparently without ever hitting the brakes. His cell phone was found in his lap.
Caleb had sent and received a total of six messages in the seven minutes leading up to the collision, the Dahlonega newspaper quoted a state trooper as saying.
If the bill were made a law, it would not apply to the usage of people making a call related to certain emergency situations or the usage of a cell phone by police and firefighters as part of their official duties.
The bill was just introduced on Jan. 14 and must go through several reviews and votes before it could go to a vote by the full House.
State Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) has filed a similar bill, HB 938.
A bill that would have banned text messaging while driving was passed by the House last year but rejected by the Georgia Senate. Currently, 18 states plus the District of Columbia already have laws banning texting while driving.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Man killed as SUV crashes into home
“What’s a safer place than sitting in a living room with your family?”That’s what Jeremy Bryant wondered Sunday.
His 60-year-old uncle, George Michael Bryant, was watching a movie with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren Saturday night when a Lincoln Navigator slammed into their Douglasville house.
Bryant, a retired Vietnam War veteran, was killed.
His wife, Joyce is expected to be released Monday from Atlanta Medical Center, and his 9-year-old granddaughter, Aylisha Walters, is recovering at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, Jeremy Bryant said Sunday night.
Walters was upgraded to fair condition Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police identified the driver as William Steward, 47, of Douglas County. He was taken to Grady Hospital; his condition was not being released.
“I’m hoping he’s going to get what he deserves,” Jeremy Bryant said.
Traveling at a high rate of speed, the Navigator knocked down mailboxes and bushes and hit a parked vehicle before barreling into the left side of the one-story home about 50 feet off Berea Road, authorities said.
“I’ve been a coroner for 27 years, and I’ve never seen nothing like this,” Douglas County coroner Randy Daniel said. “Never. Never.”
“We have no idea why this happened,” added Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon, who said the SUV traveled nearly to the back wall of the home.
Bryant’s daughter, Shannon Bryant, and a 13-year-old grandson were treated at a hospital and released.
Bryant’s son, Michael, was the only one not home. He was having a cookout with friends to celebrate his birthday, Jeremy Bryant said.
The Navigator pinned Joyce Bryant, according to her brother-in-law.
“She said she heard a boom, the lights went out and she was up under the car,” Lamar Bryant said. “She could feel the heat of the engine when she was laying up under there...I guess my brother took the full blow of it.”
Neighbor Mark Miller said people often drive way too fast down the street, even though the speed limit is 35 mph.
“People just fly down this road,” Miller said. “There’s a curve right before you get to the corner. They’ll come around the curve and lose control.”
Miller wasn’t home when the incident happened around 8 p.m., but he returned to find vehicle parts scattered on his driveway. The bush that previously grew next to his mailbox was gone.
“My neighbor’s mailbox is two houses down,” he said.
There’s a gaping hole where the front wall of the Bryants’ home once stood.
“It looks like a bus hit it,” Miller said.
The Douglas County fire department put a tarp over the house Sunday afternoon, and Jeremy Bryant said relatives were paying for a hotel for the family.
The State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene, as it does for any fatal accident that could lead to a criminal prosecution.
Lt. Paul Cosper said Steward’s blood will be tested for alcohol. Investigators will diagram the accident “and figure out formulas for speed and come up with an extensive report.”
Steward could face a charge of vehicular homicide, Cosper said.
“They’ll collect all the evidence and then make the appropriate charge,” he said.
Bryant was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, but didn’t talk about it much, his nephew said. Bryant’s health “wasn’t the greatest” and he was on disability.
Bryant loved to hunt and fish and ride a motorcycle, his nephew said.
“And he was just a good family guy,” Jeremy Bryant said. “That’s mostly what he did, just be around his family and his grandkids.”
An autopsy will be done on Monday of Bryant’s body, and the family will be able to make funeral arrangements once his body is returned.
Source
His 60-year-old uncle, George Michael Bryant, was watching a movie with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren Saturday night when a Lincoln Navigator slammed into their Douglasville house.
Bryant, a retired Vietnam War veteran, was killed.
His wife, Joyce is expected to be released Monday from Atlanta Medical Center, and his 9-year-old granddaughter, Aylisha Walters, is recovering at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, Jeremy Bryant said Sunday night.
Walters was upgraded to fair condition Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police identified the driver as William Steward, 47, of Douglas County. He was taken to Grady Hospital; his condition was not being released.
“I’m hoping he’s going to get what he deserves,” Jeremy Bryant said.
Traveling at a high rate of speed, the Navigator knocked down mailboxes and bushes and hit a parked vehicle before barreling into the left side of the one-story home about 50 feet off Berea Road, authorities said.
“I’ve been a coroner for 27 years, and I’ve never seen nothing like this,” Douglas County coroner Randy Daniel said. “Never. Never.”
“We have no idea why this happened,” added Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon, who said the SUV traveled nearly to the back wall of the home.
Bryant’s daughter, Shannon Bryant, and a 13-year-old grandson were treated at a hospital and released.
Bryant’s son, Michael, was the only one not home. He was having a cookout with friends to celebrate his birthday, Jeremy Bryant said.
The Navigator pinned Joyce Bryant, according to her brother-in-law.
“She said she heard a boom, the lights went out and she was up under the car,” Lamar Bryant said. “She could feel the heat of the engine when she was laying up under there...I guess my brother took the full blow of it.”
Neighbor Mark Miller said people often drive way too fast down the street, even though the speed limit is 35 mph.
“People just fly down this road,” Miller said. “There’s a curve right before you get to the corner. They’ll come around the curve and lose control.”
Miller wasn’t home when the incident happened around 8 p.m., but he returned to find vehicle parts scattered on his driveway. The bush that previously grew next to his mailbox was gone.
“My neighbor’s mailbox is two houses down,” he said.
There’s a gaping hole where the front wall of the Bryants’ home once stood.
“It looks like a bus hit it,” Miller said.
The Douglas County fire department put a tarp over the house Sunday afternoon, and Jeremy Bryant said relatives were paying for a hotel for the family.
The State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene, as it does for any fatal accident that could lead to a criminal prosecution.
Lt. Paul Cosper said Steward’s blood will be tested for alcohol. Investigators will diagram the accident “and figure out formulas for speed and come up with an extensive report.”
Steward could face a charge of vehicular homicide, Cosper said.
“They’ll collect all the evidence and then make the appropriate charge,” he said.
Bryant was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, but didn’t talk about it much, his nephew said. Bryant’s health “wasn’t the greatest” and he was on disability.
Bryant loved to hunt and fish and ride a motorcycle, his nephew said.
“And he was just a good family guy,” Jeremy Bryant said. “That’s mostly what he did, just be around his family and his grandkids.”
An autopsy will be done on Monday of Bryant’s body, and the family will be able to make funeral arrangements once his body is returned.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wrong way NY DUI prompts long reach to Georgia for law to protect kids
New York Governor David Patterson may be looking at a Georgia law to guide him in protecting children who are injured or killed when riding with an adult who is legally intoxicated. According to the Georgia Senate Press Office, Sen. Gail Buckner (D-Morrow) has "offered" her 1992 legislation to Patterson, as a model for a new New York State law he is crafting to stiffen penalties against impaired drivers who transport children.Buckner, in announcing her intention to share her legislation with New York's governor, told her staff Wednesday, "An adult who drives while intoxicated should be stopped under any circumstances, but certainly when children are involved.”
Patterson is taking a closer look at his state's DWI laws, following the tragic death of four children who were riding the wrong way on a New York highway last month. Toxicology reports indicated that the driver, 36-year-old Diane Schuler, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19. The tests also allegedly showed that she had taken marijuana into her system some time within the last hour before the crash, the New York Times reported.
The new law, called the Child Passenger Protection Act, would make it a felony for anyone caught with a DWI and a child under 17 years old in the car. It is currently a misdemeanor in the Empire State if an impaired driver is transporting children.
Source
Patterson is taking a closer look at his state's DWI laws, following the tragic death of four children who were riding the wrong way on a New York highway last month. Toxicology reports indicated that the driver, 36-year-old Diane Schuler, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19. The tests also allegedly showed that she had taken marijuana into her system some time within the last hour before the crash, the New York Times reported.
The new law, called the Child Passenger Protection Act, would make it a felony for anyone caught with a DWI and a child under 17 years old in the car. It is currently a misdemeanor in the Empire State if an impaired driver is transporting children.
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Family seeks answers after N. Ga. pastor killed in drug sting
Family and friends of a Lavonia minister gunned down Tuesday by an undercover police officer continue to look for answers about how he died.
Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said Jonathan Ayers, 29, was not the target of their sting operation and that authorities were looking for a woman they say Ayers dropped off minutes before the shooting. That woman, whose name has not been released, had been charged with cocaine possession and distribution, he said.
Ayers’ family maintains he was not involved in illegal drug activity.
“He is one of the Godliest men I’ve ever known,” his brother-in-law Matt Carpenter told AccessNorthGa.com. “We’re all shocked and absolutely do not believe he was involved in anything illicit or illegal there.”
Carpenter also told AccessNorthGa.com that the family was first informed Ayers died in a traffic accident, and then that he had been shot. Hours later, they learned he died in an officer-involved shooting.
Shirley said Wednesday that Ayers dropped off the sting suspect in downtown Toccoa around 2:30 p.m. and that two agents from the joint task force -- composed of officers from Stephens, Habersham and Rabun counties -- followed the pastor and attempted to question him.
WNEG-TV has surveillance video showing Ayers casually entering a Shell convenience store in Toccoa around 2:30 p.m.
According to that video, a black SUV carrying undercover officers pulls into the parking lot after Ayers left the store.
The pastor tried to avoid them, Shirley said Wednesday, striking one of the agents after putting his car in reverse.
“They yelled, ‘Police. Stop,’” Shirley said.
Witnesses to the incident also said the officers identified themselves, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.
Shirley said Wednesday that Ayers maneuvered his car towards another agent in a “threatening manner.” However, that is unclear from the video.
Shirley first said that one shot was fired by one of the three agents on the scene, striking the pastor in the upper torso. WNEG-TV reports that Shirley said the agent fired two shots into the car.
Ayers drove off before losing control of the vehicle a block away, striking a telephone pole, Shirley said.
Ayers was pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia. On his blog, he wrote, “I have three loves in my life: Jesus Christ, my wife Abby, and the Church.”
The couple was expecting their first child.
Shirley would not reveal the identity of the woman arrested in the sting. The agent struck by the pastor’s vehicle was treated and released from a local hospital, Shirley said.
“Jonathan would have wanted to witness to the police officers involved in the shooting,” his family said in a statement.
The GBI is investigating the shooting. The task force agents involved have been placed on administrative leave with pay, Shirley said.
Source
Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said Jonathan Ayers, 29, was not the target of their sting operation and that authorities were looking for a woman they say Ayers dropped off minutes before the shooting. That woman, whose name has not been released, had been charged with cocaine possession and distribution, he said.
Ayers’ family maintains he was not involved in illegal drug activity.
“He is one of the Godliest men I’ve ever known,” his brother-in-law Matt Carpenter told AccessNorthGa.com. “We’re all shocked and absolutely do not believe he was involved in anything illicit or illegal there.”
Carpenter also told AccessNorthGa.com that the family was first informed Ayers died in a traffic accident, and then that he had been shot. Hours later, they learned he died in an officer-involved shooting.
Shirley said Wednesday that Ayers dropped off the sting suspect in downtown Toccoa around 2:30 p.m. and that two agents from the joint task force -- composed of officers from Stephens, Habersham and Rabun counties -- followed the pastor and attempted to question him.
WNEG-TV has surveillance video showing Ayers casually entering a Shell convenience store in Toccoa around 2:30 p.m.
According to that video, a black SUV carrying undercover officers pulls into the parking lot after Ayers left the store.
The pastor tried to avoid them, Shirley said Wednesday, striking one of the agents after putting his car in reverse.
“They yelled, ‘Police. Stop,’” Shirley said.
Witnesses to the incident also said the officers identified themselves, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead.
Shirley said Wednesday that Ayers maneuvered his car towards another agent in a “threatening manner.” However, that is unclear from the video.
Shirley first said that one shot was fired by one of the three agents on the scene, striking the pastor in the upper torso. WNEG-TV reports that Shirley said the agent fired two shots into the car.
Ayers drove off before losing control of the vehicle a block away, striking a telephone pole, Shirley said.
Ayers was pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia. On his blog, he wrote, “I have three loves in my life: Jesus Christ, my wife Abby, and the Church.”
The couple was expecting their first child.
Shirley would not reveal the identity of the woman arrested in the sting. The agent struck by the pastor’s vehicle was treated and released from a local hospital, Shirley said.
“Jonathan would have wanted to witness to the police officers involved in the shooting,” his family said in a statement.
The GBI is investigating the shooting. The task force agents involved have been placed on administrative leave with pay, Shirley said.
Source
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