A Georgia State Patrol Trooper has been issued an official reprimand for his involvement in a wreck that occurred on Sept. 29 in Cornelia.
A GSP Patrol car, driven by Trooper First Class Travis Sanders, struck the rear bumper of a 2003 Honda Element driven by Linda Mather, causing disabling damage to the vehicle. Mather, a PREP teacher at Clarkesville Elementary, was transported by ambulance to Habersham Medical Center for observation and medical tests. No sustained injuries were reported, though Mather did say she felt “very sore” following the accident and later reported experiencing vision and thought-processing difficulties. Mather says the damage to her car was extensive and her insurance company declared it was totaled.
Following GSP protocol for trooper-involved collisions, a GSP crash review board investigated the circumstances of the wreck. “The crash was determined to be a non-emergency, preventable crash,” post commander SFC M. Chad Johnson told Now Habersham on Wednesday, adding that the review board recommended that Sanders “be given a documented verbal warning due to the fact that this was his first at-fault crash.”
Johnson says speed was not a factor in the wreck. On-scene statements made by Sgt. David Lunsford at the time of the collision termed the wreck the result of “following too close.”
GSP protocol is to handle trooper-involved wrecks administratively. Sanders was not ticketed or fined.
