Local & State Headlines

Accident victim sues H.E.A.T.

• A civil suit claims two Dougherty officers were "drafting" before the wreck that claimed the life of an Athens man.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — A man injured in a April 3 crash that killed his son has filed suit against two Dougherty County H.E.A.T. officers he says are responsible for his injuries and his wife’s loss of consortium.

Dougherty County officers Jeremiah Fenn and Oscar Gilliam had been en route to Savannah on U.S. 16 to participate in an Operation Rolling Thunder exercise when Fenn was involved in the crash, according to previous reports.

Fenn’s vehicle struck the rear of a trailer being towed by Milton Wilcox, 33, who was ejected from his Toyota SUV and killed, the reports said.

A civil suit filed Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court by Milton Wilcox’s father, William Wilcox, and mother, Shirley Wilcox, claims Fenn and Gilliam were “drafting” or “driving in tandem” when the crash occurred.

“Fenn was following closely behind Gilliam, who was driving a marked SUV, when Gilliam suddenly changed lanes to pass the Wilcox vehicle and made it likely that Fenn would not be able to avoid colliding with the Wilcox vehicle,” the Wilcoxes’ complaint said.

The collision left William Wilcox with a spinal injury, medical expenses in excess of $200,000 and continuing disability and pain, the complaint said, demanding a jury trial but no specific dollar amount.

“I’m asking for a whole lot of money,” Lexington, Ga., attorney Gary Gerrard, who represents Wilcox, said. “For the value of rendering a 56-year-old man a quadriplegic — not a complete quadriplegic, but a quadriplegic.”

Sovereign immunity, which protects the government from liability, limited the insurance settlement in Milton Wilcox’s death, while the medical expenses and lost wages of William Wilcox, a retired police major in Savannah, continue to mount, Gerrard said.

Both men were employed with Athens Regional Medical Center and were hauling personal property in the U-Haul at the time of the crash, he said, he said.

The suit alleges Fenn and Gilliam were traveling “in excess of 90 miles per hour,” but using neither flashing lights nor siren when the crash occurred.

The Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney declined to prosecute and has forwarded the case to the Candler County solicitor’s office, which has not released the Georgia State Patrol’s homicide investigation report, Gerrard said.

Fenn, Dougherty County’s 2007 Officer of the Year, has remained on administrative duties since the crash, while Gilliam was reassigned to the Albany Dougherty Drug Unit instead of the county’s HEAT force, Dougherty Police Chief Don Cheek said.

“Gilliam was not actually, directly involved” in the crash, Cheek said.

While the police force is waiting to hear the results of the Georgia State Patrol’s crash reconstruction report, the criminal case has been transferred to a misdemeanor court, he said.

“I’m sure it’s weighing heavily on the officers’ minds, it would have to,” said Cheek, who declined to comment further.

In September, Gilliam and Fenn were recognized at the state capital for outstanding speed enforcement among the state’s 27 H.E.A.T. units for reducing fatalities by more than 50 percent, Dougherty Police Lt. Tom Jackson said in previous reports.

The suit also names Dougherty County, alleging the county failed to properly train its officers and ignored complaints that officers routinely disregarded standard procedures.

County Attorney Spencer Lee said the county was aware of the suit but hadn’t responded yet.

“We’ll review the matter and proceed from there,” Lee said.

More Headlines>>