Driver going 80 mph was using cellphone before crashing into GA deputy patrol car on I-20: Sheriff
A Georgia sheriff says an accident involving two of his deputies could have been avoided if the driver hadn't been using his cellphone.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
On Sunday, just before 8 a.m., Greene County deputies responded to a one-car wreck on Interstate 20 eastbound near mile marker 136.
Around 8:33 a.m., dispatch contacted deputies about another accident involving two Greene County patrol vehicles.
The sheriff's office said as deputies were clearing the first accident, patrol vehicles sitting stationary on the shoulder of the road, with emergency lights on, were hit by another vehicle.
TRENDING STORIES:
Man found guilty of killing pregnant girlfriend in DeKalb County
Georgia AG announces Brookhaven woman convicted in $305K Medicaid fraud scheme
Another Atlanta institution gone: Taco Mac closes original Virginia-Highland location
The driver of that vehicle was identified as Andre Noah-Lee.
According to GCSO, witnesses told deputies they saw Lee traveling at 80 miles per hour while using his cellphone.
Authorities said Lee hit Sgt. Will Smith's Tahoe, which pushed it into the back of Dep. Ryan Hall's Charger, causing the Tahoe to go airborne and over the cable barrier.
Sheriff Donnie Harrison is reminding drivers not to text and drive and to move over when approaching emergency units that are helping other motorists.
'This accident could have been much worse and definitely could have been avoided,' Harrison said.
Georgia is a hands-free state. This means at no time can the driver of a motor vehicle have a handheld device in their hand while operating a motor vehicle. It is also referred to as 'distracted driving.'
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man arrested, accused of sex offence with child under 10-years-old
A man was arrested Friday by Miamisburg police after they investigated a report saying there was a potential offense, according to the Miamisburg Police Department. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The man, 56-year-old Michael Wootan, is charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition and two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material, both of which are felonies. Police say they received a report concerning a sex offence with a child under the age of 10. An investigation led to a warrant for a house on the 300 block of Richard Street. TRENDING STORIES: Video released of moments leading up to officer shooting armed man Former NFL receiver Antonio Brown sought on attempted murder charge Over 400K driver's license suspensions removed under new Ohio law The Tactical Crime Suppression Unit and Kettering Regional SWAT assisted Miamisburg police as they searched Wootan's home, police say. Wootan was taken into police custody and booked into the Montgomery County Jail. Miamisburg police say the investigation is ongoing. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘That's evil': Family with jailed loved one says they lost $400 to bail scam
A family is warning people about a scam that preys on the excitement of a loved one being released from jail. But in their case, there was no happy reunion. Channel 2's Tom Jones spoke to one family that was excited their loved one was coming home and quickly forked over hundreds of dollars to someone who said they worked at the jail. It was a scam. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'That's evil, because we been waiting on my brother to come home almost three years,' Stephanie Rushing said. Rushing thought her and her families' dreams had come true and her brother was going to be released from the Clayton County jail that night. That's what a sergeant at the jail told them. 'And if we paid the 400 dollars he could get out,' she said. Of course, the family immediately paid the so-called sergeant at the jail. 'We paid him Cash App,' Rushing said. Then, their loved one called them. They told him he was being released. He knew nothing about it. 'So then he went to talk to the people at the desk, and they told him that we have been scammed,' Rushing said. This type of scam is happening at jails around the metro area. Someone in Paulding County emailed Channel 2 Action News, saying it happened to them. TRENDING STORIES: Man found guilty of killing Gwinnett County father at baby shower learns his fate Manhunt underway after woman, child shot, killed at DeKalb apartment complex Porch pirate 'syndicate': 10 charged with stealing $6M in electronics The scam is so pervasive, judges in Clayton County warn inmates during first appearance hearings about someone calling from the jail about a pretrial diversion program and dismissal of charges if a fee is paid. 'Please note that this is a scam. No such program exists,' Magistrate Court Judge Latrevia Kates-Johnson said from the bench recently. Rushing's family found that out after forking over $400,money they didn't have to throw away. Rushing said people can be so cruel. 'So you're tugging on somebody's heartstrings about their loved ones coming home. And knowing its just a scam,' she said. Rushing says after the scam call from the jail, she got a call from someone saying they were with a bonding company. She called the bonding company, and they told her it was a scam. Rushing thinks it has to be someone from the jail scamming people since the scammer called right after her brother was booked. Jones called the Clayton County Sheriff to see what he had to say about that, but did not hear back. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
DeSantis admin pressures news outlet to stop reporting on fraud allegations
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' opposition to the First Amendment is well established: see for example his efforts to roll back legal protections for media outlets and to quash diversity measures at private companies (which earned a colorful condemnation from a federal judge back in 2022). But his administration's latest effort to shut down a news investigation into alleged corruption is uniquely disturbing, even by his standards. The administration is facing criticism from First Amendment advocates over an unsigned cease-and-desist letter from Florida's Department of Children and Families (DCF) sent last week to the Orlando Sentinel, demanding that the paper and its reporter Jeffrey Schweers stop investigating allegations of fraud related to a community welfare program spearheaded by Casey DeSantis, the governor's wife and potential Republican candidate in next year's gubernatorial race. As NBC News reported: The investigation, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald, centered on what the DeSantis administration did with money from a $67 million settlement with Medicaid contractor ... Desantis administration officials 'directed' $10 million from that pot of money to the Hope Florida Foundation, the nonprofit arm of an organization led by Casey DeSantis, according to records the group had to file as part of its nonprofit status. Of that money, $5 million was then sent to a group aligned with the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and another $5 million to a group called Save Our Society from Drugs. Those groups then sent a total of $8.5 million toward a political committee led by [state attorney general James] Uthmeier that was working to defeat the recreational marijuana amendment. It's not clear how much of the $10 million went directly to the PAC. The governor's administration apparently wants the Sentinel to cease its reporting on the matter. The cease-and-desist letter from the Florida DCF accuses Schweers of 'falsely and with malicious intent asserting that the families are implicated in fraudulent activity by accepting financial assistance from Hope Florida Foundation' and claims that Schweers' 'threats and accusations were used as coercion to get the families to make negative statements about Hope Florida.' (The Hope Florida Foundation, as NBC News notes, is the nonprofit arm of the DeSantis' welfare alternative, 'which has a goal to steer Florida residents away from government programs and instead toward services from nonprofits and faith groups,' according to the Tallahassee Democrat.) 'We stand by our stories and reject the state's attempt to chill free speech and encroach on our First Amendment right to report on an important issue,' Roger Simmons, the Sentinel's executive editor, told The Associated Press via email, adding that DCF's description of Schweers' reporting was 'completely false.' DeSantis appeared to co-sign the agency's demand in a tweet sharing the letter. 'Bottom feeders gonna bottom feed,' he said. In a reply to the governor's post, Schweers asked why the administration hadn't responded to his public records requests. He's also shared social media posts from people who say he's done nothing untoward and accusing the administration of blatant intimidation tactics. In the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing by Schweers or the Sentinel, it certainly looks like DeSantis is bearing down on the free press to silence a story simply because it might portray his family in a bad light. This article was originally published on
