Suspect in fatal accident has prior vehicular homicide record

CLEVELAND - The man charged with vehicular homicide in connection with a weekend traffic accident in White County that left a Hiawassee man dead has a prior conviction for vehicular homicide.

Brent Lamar Russum, 25, Cornelia, was jailed five years ago in a deadly Banks County traffic accident. According to the state Department of Corrections, Russum spent less than three years in prison on charges that included two counts of vehicular homicide, seven counts of injury by vehicle, two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, and one count of violation of motor vehicle laws.

He was imprisoned from May 31 2006 until January 16 2009.

The Georgia State Patrol says Russum faces multiple charges, including first degree vehicular homicide and DUI, in connection with Saturday's crash that killed William Lester Craig. The crash occurred on Asbestos Road, a narrow road that is often used as a shortcut off of Alternate Highway 75.

He is also charged with failure to maintain lane, hit and run/leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to report an accident with injury/death/damage.

ROAD DEEMED UNSAFE BY SOME

Meanwhile, at least one person who travels Asbestos Road regularly has called on White County Commissioners to do something to improve driving conditions on the roadway. Former county commissioner Chris Nonnemaker lives off Asbestos Road and was one of the first people on the scene of Saturday's fatal accident.

Nonnemaker attended Monday's White County Commission meeting and shared some graphic photos of the accident scene with the commissioners. He said the road is heavily used but is not designed to handle the high amount of traffic. Nonnemaker said the road has an 18-foot wide pavement, whereas most county paved roads have a minimum of 20 feet of pavement.

The county had already planned to resurface a section of the road in August, and Commission Chairman Travis Turner said commissioners want to see what options are available to them. They will gather information through the public works department on what improvements can be made. The commissioners did say it would take some major work to extend the pavement due to limited right of way. The section where Saturday's accident occurred, near Mauldin Road, was described as the most dangerous part of the road because of a sharp curve and the narrow roadway.