VALDOSTA —
Vehicular homicide and tampering with evidence charges have been leveled in a Saturday car accident that left a Lake Park woman dead and another one seriously injured, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
GSP’s Special Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) determined all three of driver Johnnie Moore’s passengers were ejected from a pickup truck; the team’s preliminary investigation concluded that the truck swerved into a ditch and crashed into an embankment on Twin Lakes Road in Lowndes County at 3:22 a.m. Saturday.
The GSP investigation indicated that Moore was the only one of the vehicle’s four occupants wearing a seat-belt, and the only one who wasn’t thrown from the truck due to the collision.
Victoria Hanson, 41, of Lake Park, died as a result of the crash of blunt-force trauma, according to reports, and Karen Beck, 45, sustained serious injuries.
A GSP trooper working the SCRT investigation said Tuesday that passengers were ejected through the truck’s front-right and rear windows, but no one called 911 to report the incident.
All passengers had been consuming alcohol prior to the incident and at least two occupants were in possession of marijuana, according to GSP reports.
Julie Troyer, an assistant Valdosta State University professor and front-seat passenger, reportedly contacted a friend to help the group in the aftermath of the wreck, according to the SCRT trooper.
“When the friend got there, he saw the severity of injuries and knew the ladies needed help,” said the SCRT trooper. “He loaded them into his vehicle, which he shouldn’t have done, and transported the three injured individuals to the hospital. [The driver] fled the scene on foot.”
However, it's unclear whether all three of Moore’s passenger were transported to the hospital by Troyer’s friend, not named by the GSP. Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson told The Times that Hanson was transported to the hospital by EMS from a location separate from the scene of the accident, and she was declared deceased at the hospital. Efforts to reach the GSP Tuesday evening to clarify the report were unsuccessful.
The trooper said a search was conducted at two residences to locate Moore, who turned himself in three hours after the accident, and he said concerned citizens put authorities in contact with the friend of Troyer who had assisted the three passengers.
Troyer, an assistant professor for VSU’s psychology and counseling department, may face disciplinary action from the university. Thressea Boyd, assistant to VSU’s president for communications, said that the university would uphold its policy of not commenting on the status of individual employees.
Troyer was arrested, but has since been released. She is charged with tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana and giving a false statement, according to reports from the GSP.
Moore was arrested, but has been released as well. Moore is charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree, tampering with evidence, failure to report an accident, possession of marijuana, reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a serious accident while driving under the influence of alcohol, according to reports.
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