SAVANNAH — The Richmond Hill woman charged in the 2012 wrong-way crash that killed a Bryan County Sheriff’s deputy has agreed to an open-ended plea on April 29 in Savannah, according to the Chatham County District Attorney’s office.
But in a release, the DA’s office said no deal has been reached involving sentencing in the case involving Patricia Ann Collins.
That apparently will be decided by Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley after a hearing next month in Savannah.
Collins was charged in September 2012 with first-degree vehicular homicide and DUI for driving the wrong way on I-95 in June of that year when she crashed head on into Bryan County Deputy Sgt. Robert “Bobby” Warren Crapse.
A Georgia State Patrol toxicology report found that Collins had a blood alcohol content of 0.139 on the night of the crash. It is illegal in Georgia to drive with a BAC above 0.08.
Crapse, 32, is survived by his wife and three children, ages 10, 8 and 6. He was honored in June 2013 when a street in Pembroke in front of the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department was renamed Sgt. Robert W. Crapse Drive. Among those who spoke at the ceremony was Pembroke Police Department Sgt. Matthew Lynn.
Lynn, who called Crapse his “brother, partner and best friend,” said Tuesday it’s time to put the case to rest.
“It is time for closure for all involved,” Lynn said in an email. “Bobby’s kids have lost their dad, that is irreplaceable, but to have no closure leaves the healing process in slow motion.”
Lynn also said it’s time to “remember the great law enforcement officer and brother he was, not to continue to be reminded of that fateful night in June 2012.”
And Lynn said he trusted the DA’s office and Georgia State Patrol “have investigated and could have convicted (Collins).
“I expect her to receive appropriate punishment,” Lynn said. “I hope her family also can find closure from this horrific incident. I’m ready for this to be over.”
In January 2013, Collins, accompanied by attorney Steven Beauvais, pled not guilty during a brief hearing before Walmsley. She used a walker for support and did not speak during the hearing.
In the 14 months since then, proceedings in the case have been rescheduled 10 times, according to court records available online.