Georgia on Two Wheels

Motorcycle enthusiasts around the Atlanta area will be very saddened to learn that a motorcyclist lost his life over the weekend. As I have represented many bike riders in our area as a motorcycle accident and injury lawyer, I can say first-hand that it is never easy to cope emotionally with this sort of tragedy.

Apparently, the accident occurred on Georgia state route 279 in Fayette County. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports that Fayette sheriff's Major Bryan Woodie stated that the bike driver was operating a 2009 Honda. He was traveling southbound on Georgia 279 near Georgia state route 314 when the motorcycle left the road. The accident occurred around 5 o'clock in the morning. Based on the investigation thus far, the driver attempted to steer the bike back onto the road. Tragically, that attempt was not successful and the Honda struck a sign post as well as a tree. We do not know whether the rider was wearing a helmet.

Road departure bike crashes are one reason why it is so important to wear a helmet when riding your bike. Under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 which is known as the Georgia Motorcycle Helmet Law, approved headgear is required when riding on our roadways. Specifically, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 (a) provides that "[no person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he or she is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards established by the commissioner of public safety." Similarly, either a windshield or an eye-protective device of a type approved by the commissioner of public safety is also required.

The Georgia Motorcycle Operator's Manual is a great resource for compliance with the helmet law. The fact is that "head and neck injuries account for a majority of serious and fatal injuries to motorcyclists" and that these injuries can be reduced by wearing an approved helmet.

Contrary to many riders' point of view, approved helmets do not limit the ability to see. In fact, in a study of nearly 900 motorcycle crashes, in which riders wore helmets 40% of the time, there was no case in which a helmet restricted the rider's ability to see danger. And the statistics are very clear that regardless of speed at which the bike is traveling, "helmeted riders are three times more likely to survive head injuries than those not wearing helmets at the time of the crash."

Please refer to the Georgia Motorcycle Operator's Manual for the types of approved helmets that provide the best protection. Riders want to secure a helmet that complies with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and state standards. Helmets with a label from the Snell Memorial Foundation are recommended for quality assurance.

Several really important things need to be considered when picking your helmet. Make sure that the helmet fits snugly all the way around your head, that it does not have any defects, such as cracks or loose padding, and that it is securely fastened when you ride.

There are many causes for this type of single-vehicle accidents of the kind that happened over the weekend. The mechanics of this and its causes are the subject of a major study at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's (VTTI) Center for Injury Biomechanics. Fatal road departure crashes are being studied now to help identify how road departure crashes occur, as well as the injuries and fatalities involved in these crashes. Since we really do not know why road departure crashes are so serious and fatal. The motorcycle study will focus on crashes in which the motorcycle road departure involves a traffic barrier since these are statistically more likely to be fatal than passenger vehicles that go off the road.

The Law Offices of P. Charles Scholle, P.C., represents motorcycle riders and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. Our law practice is unique in the way that we treat our clients in this difficult situations. We make sure to communicate throughout the case with riders and their families, who have suffered major injuries or the loss of a loved one due to the negligence or wrongful conduct of someone else. Please contact me at any time for a free and private consultation at one of our conveniently-located Atlanta area offices.

The driver of the vehicle responsible for killing a Walton County Sheriff's Officer was arrested last week and is facing several felony charges including first degree vehicular homicide and felony possession of marijuana and DUI.

On Saturday, September 24, Robert Champine, 59, struck Darren Hester, 46, and his wife, Jamie Jones Hester, on their motorcycle which was traveling south on Cleveland Highway when he turned into a gas station parking lot, crashing into their bike, according to Georgia State Patrol. Hester was killed at the scene and his wife was airlifted to the Atlanta Medical Center.

Hester was a deputy with the Walton County Sheriff's office for 26 years.

Hester served as a uniform patrol officer at the sheriff's office and was the night shift supervisor. He had been with the department for some 26 years.

"He was a lieutenant working as a shift supervisor, which is one of the hardest jobs at the sheriff's office," Sheriff Joe Chapman said Sunday morning. "I certainly wish this had not happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said that Champine turned into the path of the Lt. Hester. Champine was arrested and taken to the Hall County jail and booked.

The motorcycle fatality brings to five the number of Walton County residents killed in motor vehicle wrecks this month.

On Friday, Charlie Allen Moore, 79, was killed in a crash on Highway 11. He was traveling to see his wife at a nursing home in Monroe.

On September 11, Tracy Talley 36, died in an accident in Loganville.

Richard Lynn McKee, 24, was killed in a motorcycle crash on Highway 138 in Newton County on September 12th. And on the same afternoon, Madison Young, 15, was tragically killed in an ATV accident.

Three serious motorcycle crashes have occurred in or near Hall County, Georgia in the past two weeks, two of them fatal.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at approximately 7:30 p. m., Deputy Anthony Seda, 21, was killed in a motorcycle crash, according to a statement issued by the Hall County Sheriff's Office.

Seda was traveling northbound on I-985 near Plainview Road when he apparently lost control of his motorcycle and collided into a guardrail. The officer was not on duty at the time and was navigating his personal cycle. The crash is currently under investigation of the Georgia State Patrol.

Originally from New Britain, Connecticut, Seda had been with the sheriff's office for about a year. He is the second law enforcement officer to lose his life in a motorcycle accident in Hall County in under a month's time. On September 24, Walton County Sheriff's Deputy Lieutenant Darren Hester was killed while riding his motorcycle south on Cleveland Highway when a truck turning into a gas station parking lot collided with his bike. Hester's wife was riding on the back of the bike when they were struck. She was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center as a result of injuries sustained.

The driver of the vehicle, Robert Champine, 59, was arrested and faces several felony charges, including vehicular homicide, relating to the motorcycle crash.

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said that Champine turned into the path of the Lt. Hester. Champine was arrested and taken to the Hall County jail and booked.

The third wreck took place last Sunday afternoon, October 2, on Highway 365/Alto Mud Creek Road in Habersham County which is just north of Hall County. Robert Jordan Elliott, 46, of Cornelia, Georgia was traveling north on Ga. Hwy 365 when a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo entered the intersection going west on Alto-Mud Creek, striking him and his 2006 Kawasaki. According to the Georgia State Patrol, Teresa Jane Williams, 50, of Alto, Georgia, was charged with DUI and failing to yield when entering the roadway. The motorcycle struck the left front side of the car.

Elliott was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and then transferred to Atlanta Medical Center, the same hospital Deputy Lieutenant Darren Hester's wife was taken last month.

The 21-mile stretch of highway where the accident occurred is undergoing major repairs, including the replacement of crumbling gravel and loose asphalt. Earlier this year, the Georgia Department of Transportation issued a statement detailing the construction as well as cautioning drivers of the road hazards such as uneven pavement.

Though it is unclear whether or not the road conditions were a factor in this accident, motorcycle riders should remain vigilante at all times, remembering to downshift and reduce their speed when encountering problem areas.

Officials have seen an increasing need to not only gather traffic data in high-risk areas of Hall County, but establish law enforcement's presence there as well.

At the beginning of this year, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced the ninety-day roll-out of the Thunder Taskforce a unit designed to help Georgia cities combat their abnormally high occurrences of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities on local high-traffic corridors.

The Times-Georgian of Carroll County reported that a University of West Georgia student was killed Saturday after his motorcycle was struck by a car on Lovvorn Road near the entrance to the school's football stadium. The accident occurred about an hour before West Georgia's homecoming day football game against Henderson State.

The victim, Matthew Benjamin Dyas, 20, a graduate of Harrison High School in Acworth, Georgia, was in his junior year at the University and a member of West Georgia's golf team.

Gloria Faith Dupree from Allenhurst (Liberty County, Georgia) struck Dyas with her 2006 Nissan Maxima. Dupree, 23, was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, DUI and failing to yield while turning left, according to the Georgia State Patrol. She was taken to the Carroll County jail.

"I'm just speechless, devastated," said Daryl Dickey, UWG's athletic director and head football coach. "It puts this game in perspective. I tell our players all the time to count their blessings and appreciate what they have because you never know what's going to happen out there. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the family."

The state patrol's report stated that Dupree made a left turn from the westbound lane of Lovvorn directly into the path of Dyas' motorcycle. It struck the Nissan's passenger side

Majoring in finance, Dyas transferred from Georgia Southern and joined the UWG golf team in January of 2010. He was on the All-Tournament Team at the 2011 UWG Invitational.

According to Georgia law, Matthew's parents, David and Cathy Dyas of Acworth, have the right to file an action for the wrongful death of their son as a result of this cycling accident. In most Georgia personal injury claims, the injured person sues on his or her own behalf to recover compensation for an injury and the financial costs, physical pain and emotional suffering it causes. If the victim dies at a result of someone else's negligence, the family may file on the deceased behalf.

Throughout Georgia, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be deadly. When taking the wheel of a motor vehicle, it is important to remember that any impairment can lead to the death of those in your vehicle or others on the road.

If a loved one died or suffered a severe Georgia car crash injury due to someone else's carelessness, it's important that you look into your legal options as soon as possible.

Walton County Sheriff's Deputy Lieutenant Darren Hester was killed early Saturday evening, September 24, in North Hall County. Hester, 46, and his wife Jamie Jones Hester were riding their motorcycle south on Cleveland Highway when a truck turning into a gas station parking lot collided with them, according to a dispatcher at the Georgia State Patrol post in Gainesville.

The crash occurred at approximately 6.10 p.m. near the intersection of Hilltop Circle and Highway 129 about a block from Lake Lanier. Emergency dispatch received the call at 6:11 p.m.

According to a spokesperson at the Walton County Sheriff's Office, Hester died at the scene while his wife remains in critical condition at Atlanta Medical Center where she was transported by helicopter.

Hester served as a uniform patrol officer at the sheriff's office and was the night shift supervisor. He had been with the department for some 26 years.

"He was a lieutenant working as a shift supervisor, which is one of the hardest jobs at the sheriff's office," Sheriff Joe Chapman said.

The driver of the vehicle, Robert Champine, 59, was arrested and faces several felony charges relating to the motorcycle crash, including vehicular homicide for the victim's wrongful death.

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said that Champine turned into the path of the Lt. Hester. Champine was arrested and taken to the Hall County jail and booked.

"The driver of the 2000 Chevrolet 3500 truck that turned into the path of the motorcycle was being driven by Robert Champine, age 59, from Gainesville," Wright said. "He was arrested and has been charged with first degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, failure to yield while turning left, serious injury by vehicle and felony possession of marijuana."

Wright said more than an ounce of marijuana was found in the vehicle, making the possession of it a felony.

"It has not been weighed yet but is more than an ounce and less than a kilo," Wright said.

The motorcycle fatality brings to five the number of Walton County residents killed in motor vehicle wrecks this month.

At the beginning of this year, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced the ninety-day roll-out of the Thunder Taskforce in January 2011, a specialized traffic enforcement unit designed to help Georgia cities combat their abnormally high occurrences of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities on local high-traffic corridors. The goal of the Thunder Taskforce goal in Gainesville and Hall County was the interception of high-risk drivers before they became involved in serious crashes, said Director Harris Blackwood of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

According to GOHS crash data, Hall County reported 20 traffic deaths by August 2010. That exceeds the fatality count of the previous year by five. This data instigated Gainesville and Hall County law officials to team with the GOHS for Taskforce traffic enforcement.

The Thunder strategy assigned concentrated patrols to state routes, rural roads and interstate highways on alternating schedules during the 90-day crackdown. Additionally, Taskforce officers implemented random seat belt and sobriety checkpoints and speed patrols, collected the results and documented their progress.

As a supporter and Advisory Board Member of MADD, I advocate that drivers do not mix alcohol or drugs with driving. MADD statistics indicate that about 27% of Georgia's fatal traffic accidents in recent years involved drunk drivers.

Georgia laws (and juries) do not look kindly on drivers shown to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Legal liability (fault for the accident) is generally easier to prove in cases of intoxicated drivers, particularly if the driver was charged with a DUI. That means victims should be offered a larger settlement, and if they must go to court to enforce their rights, victims are entitled to ask for punitive damages.

Punitive damages are special payments, not available in every case, intended to punish severe wrongdoing. Normally, under Georgia law, punitive damages are capped at $250,000, but where alcohol is involved, punitive damages can be unlimited. Of course, victims are also entitled to claim all of the same damages that other Georgia accident victims may claim, including their medical bills, repair costs and other costs of the accident as well as compensation for pain, suffering and any permanent disability or scarring.

Our condolences go out to the Hester family and the Walton County Sheriff's Department.