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No tickets for wreck that injured sheriff
Don martin uniform
Sheriff Don Martin
The Georgia State Patrol is not filing charges against Liberty County Sheriff Don Martin or Sherri Elaine Griffin of Midway, in the Dec. 3 wreck that injured Martin.
Martin reportedly rear-ended Griffin’s vehicle at 10:20 p.m. when she stopped to make a left turn from Highway 84 into a Clyde’s convenience store on Butler Avenue in Midway.
Martin remains hospitalized at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. He had surgery for a broken leg on Thursday. The sheriff also sustained six broken ribs and a fractured wrist in the accident.
Griffin was driving her 1995 Ford commercial truck east on 84 at a slow speed with intentions of making a left turn into the convenience store, according to the Georgia State Patrol accident report. Martin was driving his 2008 Ford pickup east on 84 when his vehicle hit the back of Griffin’s truck. Both drivers were in the left lane.
Griffin’s truck traveled about 257 feet after impact stopping in the left lane. She said she did not feel the impact and thought she had blown a tire, reported GSP Senior Trooper Harry Middleton.
The sheriff’s pickup travelled out of control more than 181 feet until it came to rest in the south wood line and caught fire.
Witnesses told the GSP they heard tires skidding and saw Martin’s pickup hit the rear of Griffin’s truck. They each said they did not see any lights on Griffin’s vehicle, according to the report.
Middleton reported Griffin had her headlights and taillights on when he arrived, and that her turn light switch was in the down position.
According to the report, neither driver was believed to be drinking and factors that may have contributed to the accident were listed as “other.” Neither driver was tested for alcohol or drugs, according to the report. The report also said that Martin’s air bag did not deploy.
In an online journal about the sheriff’s condition, family members wrote that surgery Thursday to repair his leg went well. Saturday afternoon, they said he was regaining consciousness from a medically induced coma.
“We’re hoping that he will soon wake up and be an active participant in his own recovery,” the entry said.
To read the journal, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/donmartin.
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