LOOKING BACK AT 2022
Traffic fatalities in Jones County were up from the previous year with five reported in 2022 compared to the two reported in 2021.
The first fatal accident in 2022 took place Feb. 2. It took the life of a 26-year-old and injured two people in the other car.
Troy James McWilliams was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident that took place at approximately 8:50 p.m. The accident happened in the 2400 block of Graham Road, which is near the intersection of Sand Creek Road.
Jones County Sheriff’s Office fatality investigator Capt. Kenny Allen said the Honda Civic driven by McWilliams was traveling eastbound on Graham Road when the collision with the Buick LaSabre traveling westbound took place.
Allen said McWilliams lost control of his vehicle and went into the oncoming lane. When the cars collided, the passenger side of the Civic hit the front of the Buick. Following the impact, the investigator said the Civic left the road, went into an embankment and came to rest among the trees.
Allen said the two victims in the Buick were transported to the hospital. He said the 11-year-old was then transported to the Egleston Hospital in Atlanta due to her serious injuries.
The grandmother suffered a broken leg and remained in the hospital. He went on to say her injuries did not appear to be life threatening.
Allen said a witness confirmed that the driver of the Honda appeared to have lost control and came into the oncoming lane. He said everyone involved in the accident was wearing their seatbelts.
The report of a June 1 fatality by JCSO Deputy Jeffrey Robinson stated Christina Pipkin Wilson was traveling northbound on Griswoldville Road at approximately 8:50 p.m. June 1, when the 2004 Honda Accord she was driving traveled off the roadway onto the right shoulder of the road.
Robinson said evidence at the scene of the accident showed the Honda came back on the road, crossing both lanes. He said skid marks indicated the car moved to the right, causing it to slide sideways.
The deputy said the vehicle continued across both lanes into a shallow ditch, where it struck a tree. He said the Honda overturned after striking the tree, coming to an uncontrolled rest on the west side of the roadway.
Robinson stated the crash was the cause of the driver’s death. The report of the accident noted that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected from the car.
Frances Diane Lee, 54, of Ocala, Florida, died as the result of injuries she received in a one-vehicle accident Sept. 24. The accident happened on Eatonton Highway at 1 p.m. The report of the accident by JCSO Deputy Kevin Harden stated the motorcycle Lee was driving left the roadway onto a low soft shoulder. He said the driver lost control and drove off into the ditch. Harden said the vehicle did several forward flips, and the driver was thrown, landing 10-12 feet from the where the motorcycle came to rest.
The final two fatalities of the year took place within four days of each other.
A fatal accident that took place Nov. 18 at the intersection of Greene Settlement Road and the Gray bypass was reported at 3:30 p.m. Katherine Jackson, 67, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident by Jones County Coroner Matt Jarratt.
The coroner said the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries received in the accident.
The 17-year-old driver and 15-year-old passenger in the car were both transported to the hospital for treatment.
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident, Marcus Starks, of Hartwell, was also taken to the hospital for treatment.
The accident report by JCSO Deputy Thomas Sullivan stated that he arrived at the accident scene at 3:35 p.m. He said the Jacksons were in a 2013 Dodge Avenger. The officer said he was not able to get a statement from anyone in that vehicle.
Starks was driving a 2019 Freightliner. His statement was the Dodge Avenger pulled up to the stop sign at the intersection and then continued to pull out in front of him.
Sullivan said the physical evidence at the scene shows that the Freightliner was traveling North on the Gray Bypass as the Dodge that had been traveling west on Greene Settlement Road was stopped at the stop sign. The report states the car failed to yield and pulled out in front of the truck, causing a crash.
The officer said video evidence of the crash supported the physical evidence and the truck driver’s statement. He said a JCSO fatality investigator was called to the scene.
A report of the Nov. 22 accident by Jones County Sheriff Deputy Henry David Thayer states that Martha Showers, 70, was found deceased at the scene of the accident that occurred on Georgia Highway 57.
Thayer said he was dispatched in reference to an accident with a possible ejection at approximately 4 p.m. When he arrived at the scene, the deputy said he made contact with the 1998 Mercury driven by Showers about 150 to 170 feet from the roadway.
Thayer said the vehicle was overturned and the victim was located 25 to 30 yards from the vehicle.
Jarratt was called to the scene and pronounced Showers deceased. He said the cause of death was blunt force trauma injuries received in the accident.
Officers spoke to neighbors in the area, but no one witnessed the accident.
Thayer said he turned the scene over to accident Investigator Deputy Kevin Harden.
Jones County man dies in Monroe County accident
Michael Frank Adams of Gray, 53, was killed Oct. 5 on Highway 87 near Taylor Road. The Monroe County report of the accident stated the Nissan Frontier driven by Adams left the road on the left shoulder, overcorrected and crashed into a tree. The victim was not wearing a seatbelt. The pickup truck was headed northbound, going away from Macon, when the accident happened. Adams was not wearing a seatbelt.
Train fatality
The body of a Missouri woman was found on railroad tracks in Jones County after it was believed to have been run over by at least one train.
Capt. Kenny Allen said he received a call May 8 about a female struck by a train near the intersection of Largo Drive and Henderson Road. Allen said a deputy had located the body but that area of the track was not accessible by vehicle.
The investigator said they had to walk about a half of a mile, off the road, to get to the site where the body was found. He said there were no houses in the area.
Allen said he spoke with Northfolk Southern officials who said, when the 2:30 p.m. train went through the area, there was nothing on the tracks, but it was spotted when the train came back, headed to Savannah at 8 p.m.
The deceased was identified as 53-year-old Melissa G. Willett from Moberly, Missouri.
The investigator said there is a camera on the front of the train that saw the body, but it was too late for the train to stop.
The investigator said they suspect she was riding the train and fell off or attempted to jump off the 2:30 p.m. train.
Allen said it is a good possibility that the deceased was hit by the 2:30 train when she either jumped or fell and was struck the second time by the 8 p.m. train. He said the video from the front of the 2:30 train shows the track clear, but the body was on the track at 8 p.m.
Willett was identified by her fingerprints with the help of the FBI and involved phone calls to several contacts to secure her name and information.
Allen said he was able to track down the daughter of the deceased with the help of the Columbia County Police Department in Missouri. He said he found out Willett was estranged from her family had been homeless for some time.
The cause of death is thought to have been accidental.
