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| Georgia Officials Study Prison Employees' Fatal Crash |
| By Augusta Chronicle |
| Published: 06/05/2003 |
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Officials from the Georgia State Patrol were investigating a recent single-car accident in Wrightsville, Ga., that killed a correctional officer and injured another. Jerry Ford, 50, was killed May 22 when the Ford Crown Victoria he was driving hydroplaned on Georgia Highway 57, said Trooper A.G. Davis of the state patrol post in Swainsboro. The vehicle - an Emanuel County sheriff's patrol car - veered off the road and hit several trees, he said. Both Mr. Ford and his passenger, Steven Hackle, 30, were thrown from the vehicle, Trooper Davis said. Mr. Ford was pronounced dead at about 5:40 p.m. from blunt force injuries, said Johnson County Coroner Russell Dixon. His body was sent to the crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy, he said. Mr. Hackle was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where he was in good condition, said hospital spokeswoman Danielle Wong. Both men worked as detail officers for Johnson State Prison in Wrightsville, authorities said. They had just returned inmates to the prison and were off duty when the accident occurred, officials said. 'It was devastating for myself and the rest of the staff,' said Timothy Ward, the warden at Johnson State Prison. 'Jerry meant a lot to a lot of people out here.' Mr. Ford, a native of Swainsboro, worked at the Georgia Department of Corrections for 13 years and had been at the prison in Wrightsville since 1992, family and friends said. He also worked as a part-time deputy for 12 years at the Emanuel County Sheriff's Department, officials said. 'He did a fantastic job,' said sheriff Tyson Stephens. 'He was a good friend and a good deputy.' Mr. Ford usually used an Emanuel County patrol car to drive to Wrightsville, where he worked transporting prisoners to various details and institutions, authorities said. 'Jerry was always being upbeat,' Mr. Ward said. 'When he came to you with something, rest assured it was going be something positive.' Mr. Ford was revered by many people as a family man who would always lend a helping hand, his family said. 'He was the kind of man that was looking out for someone else other than himself,' said his daughter Shaleita Franklin. |
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