A wrecker service employee surveys a vehicle following an accident Tuesday in which a Saturn sedan overturned on Highway 113 at West Hickory Level Road south of Temple. The vehicle believed to have caused the accident allegedly left the scene and wrecked just east of Highway 113 on West Hickory Level Road. One person in the Saturn was flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center. (Photo by Cliff Williams/Times-Georgian)
Donald Peter Else, 20, was arrested and charged with several traffic violations, as well as driving under the influence.
Corp. J.T. McMillan of the Georgia State Patrol said Else refused testing at the scene. Else was booked into Carroll County Jail Tuesday evening.
A female victim involved in the second crash was flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center, where she was treated for a collapsed lung and broken ribs, among other injuries. The woman was in stable condition as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, McMillan said.
Police suspect Else was under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs, which were found not in their original container in the suspect’s Dodge Ram 1500. Also found in the pickup truck was a half-empty bottle of whiskey, police said.
Else’s 21st birthday is today, McMillan said.
Else allegedly caused a wreck in Temple around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, before driving down Highway 113, where he allegedly caused another accident just north of West Hickory Level Road, McMillan said.
Leaving the scene of that accident with a flat tire, Else then turned onto West Hickory Level Road, where he crossed over the center line before crashing into a ditch, where he was found and arrested, McMillan said.
The state patrol has charged Else with 12 offenses. Temple Police Department will be charging him with more for the initial crash that occurred in Temple city limits, McMillan said.
A portion of Highway 113 was closed for close to an hour Tuesday, with officers and emergency personnel clearing debris on the roadway.
She had her 17 year old son with her.
I am very angry but still in shock at the same time. Part of me wants to beat the living H@@l out of him but I know that will not solve any thing.
You can best bet I will be at every court date I can possibly make the time or get the time to go to.
Whether he remembers or not, the fact is he is responsible for a lot of devastation, hard ship and heartache not only to my wife and her family but to the other victims of the tragedy... including himself. What a wast of a life that is pretty much just getting started and now ending at the same time for him.
Thank you for letting me vent here and for the prayers.
Steve
I personally know Peter.. I want to personally say I am so sorry to you and your family. When I first heard the news I was so heart broken. 21 years old and facing 22 years in jail.
This is all such a shame. I am so very sorry.
If there is anything I can personally do to help I will be more than willing.