A Dodge County woman died Saturday afternoon, November 20, as the result of a traffic accident.
Dodge County emergency personnel responded to a single vehicle accident around 2:49 p.m. on Georgia Highway 257 near mile marker 5 (five).
Volunteer firefighters and Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer, which had overturned several times before leaving the roadway.
The driver of the vehicle was ejected from the wreckage, according to emergency personnel.
There were no other occupants in the vehicle.
The driver was transported to Dodge County Hospital by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and was later pronounced dead, according to Dodge County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Captain Tony Winborn.
The deceased driver has been identified as Ashley Grimsley Thigpen (age 27), according to Dodge County Coroner Joe Smith. The accident is under investigation by troopers from the Helena Post of the Georgia State Patrol.
Local law enforcement officers are participating with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) in Operation Click-It-Ticket throughout the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.
Last Thursday night, the Eastman Police Department hosted the South Central Traffic Enforcement Network (SCTEN) of GOHS. Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies joined Eastman Police officers and other officers of the traffic network in a concentrated patrol along with road safety check points.
Local law enforcement officers on that one day made arrests and/or issued traffic citations for the following offenses: 4 Driving Under the Influence (DUI); 6 suspended licenses; 4 uninsured motorists; 4 unregistered vehicles; 2 child restraints; 2 seat belts; 2 speeding; 1 passing in a no passing zone and 12 equipment violations.
Officers are taking a zero tolerance approach to drunk drivers and are encouraging persons to buckle up and slow down.
Dodge County deputies have responded to three (3) fatal wrecks in the last three (3) months. Two (2) of those wrecks were in Dodge County and one (1) was just inside Bleckley County. In each of these wrecks, a driver or passenger died as a result of the crash while not wearing a seatbelt. In each of these crashes, the passenger compartments of the wrecked vehicles were not compromised, according to officials. The fatalities in two (2) of those crashes, the driver or the occupant was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. The other fatality was the result of a passenger being thrown around the interior of the vehicle during the crash.
