More than 23 years after she died in an off-duty wreck, Cleveland Police Officer Carol Leigh Ledford of Clarkesville was remembered Friday near the site of that crash.
District 51 State Sen. Steve Gooch led the brief ceremony that included comments from former Clarkesville Police Chief Clay Bridges, who hired Ledford there; Ledford’s first partner in Cleveland, Aaron Autry; and her mother, Geraldine Ledford.
Bridges said a lot of people said Ledford was fearless, but he noted she was not fearless. Instead, she used that fear to make her stronger and that’s one of the reasons he hired her.
Following the ceremony, Gooch joined the family in unveiling the new Carol Leigh Ledford Memorial Intersection signs on Hulsey Road (Appalachian Parkway) at NOK Drive, the road leading to BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland.
Joining Gooch in recognizing the family were numerous elected officials, including Cleveland Mayor Josh Turner, State Rep. Stan Gunter, State Rep. Will Wade, Enotah Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley and Chief Superior Court Judge Raymond George, White County Sheriff Rick Kelley and Chief Deputy Gus Sesam, Commission Chairman Travis Turner, Commissioners Craig Bryant and Terry Goodger, Cleveland City Council members Nan Bowen, C.J. McDonald, and Rebecca Yardley, Cleveland Police Chief Jeff Shoemaker and the members of that department, Helen Police Chief Aletha Barrett, Clayton Police Chief Andy Strait, Georgia State Patrol Troop B Commander Chad Johnson, and others.
“It just shows that her life just keeps on going to me, because all of this and the signs,” Geraldine Ledford said.
Ledford died April 19, 1999, after her car was struck head-on by a drunk driver on Hulsey Road in Cleveland.
