The Georgia Highway Patrol is investigating the Monday night accident that killed 18 year-old Josh Stafford. He was riding in a car driven by 18 year-old Wade Hall, when authorities said Hall crossed the center line in the path of another car. Hall was seriously injured in the crash. A woman and her three children in the other car sustained non life-threatening injuries.
Authorities said Stafford was as senior at Effingham County High School and the son of an Effingham County Sheriff's Deputy.
This is the first fatality on Effingham County roadways since the sheriff's department launched its Traffic Enforcement unit. Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie pushed for the unit after two high students died in a crash last summer.
The four deputies assigned to ECSO's Traffic Enforcement unit have worked more than 3,800 hours from November to March. Over that time period, they have written more than 3,300 tickets and made 200 arrests.
The sheriff's office said their mission is not to make money. They said they are just trying to make sure everyone gets home safely, especially after a tragedy affected one of their own.
"There's going to be wrecks on the highways. There's going to be fatalities. Our thing is try to reduce the amount that we were having, which I think we've done," said Sgt. Brian Mundy, who leads the Traffic Enforcement unit.
"It wasn't unusual to write 15, 18, 20 tickets a day.. of various types, but the speeds were a lot greater," said Mundy as News 3 rode with him Tuesday. He notes the number of tickets, and the speeds, have inched downward since the unit started last year.
"People have slowed down," he said.
But not everyone has. On Highway 21, Mundy stopped a woman in a red SUV going 72 in a 55 and issued her a ticket.
Not long after, a black passenger car caught his attention for going 70. That driver got a warning.
As Mundy went about his normal work Tuesday, the loss of a friend and colleague's son still weighed on him.
"I knew Josh well, and it saddens me that it happened but what I would hope is the young children and young adults in this county would take notice and understand that they're not invincible," he said.
He said they are trying to educate young drivers that nothing is more important than their lives.
"Take away the distractions inside the vehicle, pay attention to what they're doing and just obey the laws. We want them to grow up," said Mundy.
The flags at the Effingham County Sheriff's Office were flying at half staff in memory of Stafford.
Source http://www2.wsav.com/
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