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Family still dealing with fatal auto accident

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Tony Daniel of Newnan isn’t a vengeful person.

All he wants is to ensure that justice is served for his late father, who died hours after he was rear-ended by Griffin Judicial Circuit Chief Public Defender Arthur Hurst English IV March 10.

English was behind the wheel of a white 2004 GMC Yukon when he slammed into a white 1998 Ford Mustang driven by Hiram Graybill Daniel Jr., 61, of Stockbridge, Georgia State Patrol officials said. Daniel’s vehicle then struck a truck that was in front of him.

The accident occurred at 2:24 p.m. on Ga. Highway 92 just west of Vineyard Road in Spalding County, officials said. The road was dry and the weather was clear.

Daniel was transported by air ambulance to Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, where he died March 11 from subdural hematoma, an injury to the brain, Spalding County Coroner Sonny Foster said.

English, a Barnesville resident, initially was cited for driving too fast for conditions despite the clear weather conditions. However, that charge was retracted once state patrol officials learned of Daniel’s death.

Daniel’s son, Tony, a band teacher and golf instructor at Landmark Christian Academy in Fairburn, said his father’s death was a huge loss to the family and the community.

“My father was well-known and well respected,” he said.

Graybill Daniel, or Skipper as he was called by many, was a former city manager for Locust Grove, a substitute teacher for Morrow Middle School, a former epidemiologist for the Georgia Department of Community Health, a devoted father and grandfather.

He also was a commissioner of the Atlanta Amateur Softball Association. He was en route to Tallahassee to umpire a college softball tournament when the accident occurred.

A four-month investigation into the case launched by the GSP Special Collision Reconstruction Team was concluded July 14, SCRT Commander Lt. Ken Peterman said.

Peterman declined to disclose whether a cell phone or alcohol was involved or whether English was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.

Peterman indicated the information was classified and has been turned over to the state solicitor who will decide whether to prosecute the case. English could face a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge as a result of the fatal accident.

Spalding County State Solicitor Trey Howell III indicated he and his prosecutors have recused themselves from the case because of the relationship they have with English. English heads the office that serves indigent defendants in Spalding, Pike, Upson and Fayette counties.

“The Attorney General has been sent a letter and we are going to make an appointment,” Howell said Monday. “The letter was sent out today.”

Tony Daniel said the family has retained attorney Alphonse Dattolo of Jackson to represent them in the case.

Daniel indicated he personally isn’t pushing for a prosecution, but he wished English would provide some restitution to the family.

He indicated the family is still grappling with an estimated $20,000 debt for medical bills and funeral expenses that resulted from his father’s death.

He also wants to see the accident report to ensure the accident was indeed an accident — that no distractions like a cellphone or searching through a briefcase were involved. It was his understanding, English was traveling from job to job.

Tony Daniel said his brother Hiram Graybill Daniel III is a Henry County police officer. According to information they received, his dad had come to a complete stop when English rear-ended him and “there were no signs of him ever hitting the breaks,” Tony Daniel said. “I don’t see how you can slam into someone on a straight away road unless you were distracted.”

Tony Daniel also suspects English of speeding, although English was not cited for it.

English has since taken a 60-day leave of absence to deal with health and personal reasons.

Tony Daniel said English sent his family a letter of apology and he accepts it. But if English was negligent in any way, Tony Daniel believes there should be consequences.

“I don’t want his life to be taken away from him, but if this accident was the result of negligence then I would like to see some consequences, because we all would,” Tony Daniel said.

Tony Daniel’s aunt, June Gunn of Millen, agreed English should have to pay restitution.

“It was an accident as far as I am concerned, but the bills need to be paid,” Gunn said. “They should at least pay the bills and the funeral expenses. I just don’t want the boys to have to eat the expenses.”