Color of traffic light may never be determined

The head of the Georgia State Patrol team reconstructing the accident that killed Elizabeth Rihm said Tuesday “we may not ever be able to determine the color of the traffic light.”

Corp. Jim Wicker said two questions remain at the center of the investigation – were the lights and siren engaged on the patrol car, and what color was the traffic light at the time of the accident.

“The patrol car had emergency equipment activated with blue lights, headlights flashing and a siren,” said Gordy Wright, Georgia State Patrol spokesman.

Witnesses who live near the scene said they heard the siren, according to Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee. The state patrol team confirmed it had reliable witnesses who heard the sirens and then the crash.

But there was no eyewitness to identify the color of the traffic light. Wicker said this may never be solved.

“With the red light issue, we will rely on the DOT engineers for help,” Wicker said.

The Special Collision Reconstruction Scene team was at the scene Tuesday trying to piece together the accident.

“A general procedure in our investigation is to make a forensic map or a scale diagram of the whole collision scene to include any roadway features, skid marks, yaw marks [that show that the tire is sliding, but still rotating], gauges and the final resting place of the vehicles,” Wicker said. “These diagrams are useful to us in determining any speed
formulas, if available.”

The speed of Deputy McIntyre’s vehicle is not known right now, however there is a slim chance that the fact will never be known.

“We may not be able to determine the speed of a vehicle in every wreck,” Wicker said. “We can make a good drawing or core presentation for whoever needs to see it; and it will be in our case file and it will document every bit of the roadway evidence.”

Wicker said the scene showed there were no skid marks.

“I believe that most of what we have is after impact marks, there aren’t always going to be skid marks. Skid marks occur when a tire is locked up and sliding.”

Baldwin County Deputy Chris McIntyre, 23, was responding to a domestic emergency call when he passed through the intersection of Franklin and Wayne streets in downtown Milledgeville, according to the accident report. Wright said Rihm was traveling east on Franklin Street and McIntyre was traveling south on Wayne street. His police-issued Crown Victoria hit Rihm’s 1996 Saturn broadside, spinning both vehicles.
She was ejected through the back windshield of her car, according to Baldwin County Coroner Wayne Brooks. Rihm was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 4:10 a.m.

“Rihm actually died because of multiple blunt traumas to her body,” Brooks said.

“Deputy McIntyre was responding to a call in which a man was reportedly attempting to run over his wife,” said Massee.

According to Wright, Rihm was not wearing her seatbelt at the time of the accident; however, airbags were deployed in both cars.

Deputy McIntyre, who remains on paid administrative leave, was rushed to Oconee Regional Medical Center, only to be released a short time later with minor lacerations and injuries.

According to Senior Trooper Truman Boyle, Rihm’s car never flipped, “it was a rotation.”

Friends said Rihm was on her way to her apartment when the accident occurred. Earlier in the night, according to her Delta Zeta sister Melanie Chastain, Rihm had been the designated driver for a few of her friends. Rihm went home to change clothes, and then went to another friend’s house to “hang out.”

Officers at the scene initially misidentified Rihm because her friend
Natalie Wiman’s driver’s license was inside the car. Ken Vance, Director of Public Safety at GC&SU, told the Wiman family their daughter had been killed in the accident.

Wright said it was not until several hours later that police learned that Rihm – not her friend — was the victim. Several Delta Zeta sisters identified Rihm later that morning at the Oconee Regional Medical Center morgue.

“As I understand it, Natalie’s family was on their way to Milledgeville when Natalie called them,” said Vance.

Wiman’s professors on campus were also notified of her death Friday morning by the vice president of Student Affairs. Later in the day, a corrected e-mail message was sent to the entire campus saying Rihm had been the one killed in the accident.

“We work hand-in-hand with GC&SU, and it hurts me deeply to have lost one of its students,” Masse added.

The investigation will probably take several months to complete.

“This is the early stages of this investigation, we still have people to talk to, vehicles to look at, and then we will try to put it all together,” said Boyle.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 21 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry