Authorities are seeking leads to identify the hit-and-run driver who left a Clarkesville man dead on the side of the road over the weekend.
63-year-old Robert Terry Reeves was pushing his bicycle north on Highway 17, when he was hit by a vehicle. After the collision, the driver fled the scene, state troopers say.
The incident occurred in the area of Hwy. 17 and Daniel Road, near Victory Baptist Church, west of Clarkesville.
New details released Monday narrowed the timeline of the fatal crash.
According to officials, around 9 p.m. Friday, an officer reported seeing Reeves walking beside his bike near the juncture of Highway 17 and Habersham Mill Connector. Thirty-five minutes later, a resident called 911 after returning home and discovering Reeves body two-tenths north of that juncture. They tried to revive him. An ambulance transported Reeves to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Demorest, where the coroner pronounced him dead at 10:35 p.m. Friday.
Habersham County Coroner Kasey McEntire says it’s likely Reeves died on impact. He sent Reeves’ body to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
Those who knew Reeves expressed shock and sadness at the news of his death. They say he was a “good man.”
Reeves’ sister, Sara Phillips, has set up an online fundraiser to raise money for his funeral expenses.
Investigation continues
Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa is handling the investigation into the fatal hit-and-run. Troopers have so far been unable to determine whether Reeves was on the shoulder of the road or in the roadway when he was hit. They also do not know the make or model of the vehicle that hit him.
The state patrol’s Troop B Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) is assisting with the investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the state patrol post in Toccoa at 706-282-4531.
This is the third pedestrian accident in Habersham County this month.
On August 10, a Marietta man was seriously injured when a van hit him on GA 385 at Midway Crossing in Cornelia.
On August 16, a Lula man was seriously injured when he was struck by a pickup truck on GA 197 south of Clarkesville.
