In 2020, 31 people died in crashes on Hall County roads. That number was 30 in 2021. Already, this year there have been 11 fatalities – but that is an improvement over this time last year when there were 19.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Thursday morning kicked off Operation Thunder in Hall County, an effort that will last through Sunday focusing on speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, and other behaviors that typically contribute to crashes involving injuries and deaths.
Powell Harrelson of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said he would be happy if no officer had to write a ticket, but he also knows that’s not reality, adding fatality and serious-injury crashes on Georgia highways were higher in 2021 than in the previous 15 years.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch says he hopes the Operation Thunder combined enforcement effort will contribute to saving lives and reducing wrecks.
“The goal is to reduce our traffic fatalities and make sure that our roadways are safe, Couch said. “We saw, especially during the height of the pandemic, a lot of high speeds and just incredibly high speeds. People were traveling recently had a lot of single-vehicle crashes, due to speed and impaired driving. We've just got to reduce that make sure everybody gets home safely. I know for one, my staff it gets tiring having to go to people's homes and tell them a loved one has been killed in a traffic crash. And so, the ultimate goal is not revenue. I know you'll have some people that will say, Oh, it's all about the money. No, it's not. It's about reducing those traffic crashes and keeping everybody safe.”
Lt. Anthony Coleman of the Georgia State Patrol says Troop B is providing more than a dozen troopers to assist in the efforts.
“We're here to support the Governor's Office of Highway Safety and Hall County Sheriff's Office during this event,” Coleman said. “We’re going to provide 16 additional troopers dedicated specifically for this detail here in Hall County. And like was stated earlier, we will be on the interstates, state routes, county roads, trying to increase visibility and enforcement.”
Gainesville Police Deputy Chief Kevin Gaddis says the city is thankful GOHS is providing the additional resources to the area, especially at a time when many agencies already are stretched thin on staffing.
“As the sheriff said earlier, we've seen an uptick in fatality accidents in Hall County, and even in the city, Gaddis said. ‘We've had several this year. I don't know the exact number, but we have seen an increase in fatality accidents. We continuously work with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to help reduce crashes through educational programs and enforcement actions. We are fortunate enough to have Rolling Thunder come back this year, which our traffic unit will be participating in, doing concentrated patrols are working with to prevent distracted driving, get DUI drivers off the streets through checkpoints, in an effort to hopefully reduce crashes and to educate folks as well.”
Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard, whose office prosecutes misdemeanor vehicular homicide cases, said she hoped officers could prevent her from having to have “the absolute worst conversation” with a victim’s family.
