SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Another life was lost on Eatonton Highway last week when a 19-year-old was killed after apparently losing control in a curve of the dangerous road just after midnight.
Jones County Sheriff’s Office Fatality Investigator Capt. Kenny Allen stated in a Jan. 12 interview that Coby James Cromer was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident by Deputy Coroner Stacey Gardner. The accident occurred on Eatonton Highway Jan. 7 and was the first traffic fatality of Jones County for 2023.
The report of the Jan. 7 accident by JCSO Deputy Zachary Allen estimated the time it occurred at 12:24 a.m. The report narrative states that the 2000 Ford Focus driven by Cromer was traveling southbound on State Route 44 when it appeared to leave the right side of the roadway, over-corrected, and came back onto the road entering the oncoming lane of traffic.
The Focus was then struck in the right passenger area by a 2014 Ford 250 pickup, driven by a 20-year-old South Carolina man. The impact pushed both vehicles off the roadway and into a ditch.
The driver of the pickup told Deputy Allen that he was traveling northbound when he saw the Focus enter his lane of travel sideways.
The captain was called to the scene to investigate the accident. He said the evidence at the scene supported the report of the accident. Allen said the driver of the pickup was transported to the trauma center to be checked out. He was treated and released.
