Baldwin’s Fire Chief Joe Roy is back home tonight, just two days after being seriously injured in an accident. During Monday night’s Baldwin City Council meeting Mayor Jerry Neace announced Roy was heading home from Grady Hospital in Atlanta:
“Chief Roy left Atlanta by ambulance at 5:15pm on his way home. He has a lot of rehab ahead of him but we are grateful he is on his way home.”
Neace praised Baldwin’s Assistant Fire Chief Jamie Tyler for stepping up in Roy’s absence. Tyler told Council members he had received calls from other fire departments in the region offering to help out, but he assured the council that Baldwin’s Fire Department is fully covered.
Roy was life flighted to Grady Hospital’s trauma unit Saturday after he was hit by a pick-up truck during a boot drive. He was collecting donations from cars in the intersection of Duncan Bridge and Mud Creek Roads when the truck hit him from behind.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Roy was standing on the double yellow lines of the intersection. The driver of the truck, 69-year old R.W. Nored of Dahlonega was traveling through on a green light. Officers say he stopped immediately after impact. No charges have yet been filed.
Roy has been Baldwin’s Fire Chief for 19 years.
