Officer Carol Leigh Ledford Memorial Intersection dedicated in Cleveland

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.

District 51 State Sen. Steve Gooch, right, presents a copy of Senate Resolution 519 to Geraldine Ledford, mother of Cleveland Police Officer Carol Leigh Ledford, who died in 1999. Also shown are, from left, Clayton Police Chief Andy Strait, Ledford's sister Melissa Strickland, former Clarkesville Police Chief and retired GBI agent Clay Bridges, White County Sheriff Rick Kelley, Tallulah Falls Police Chief Tonya Elrod, and White County Chief Deputy Gus Sesam.

Geraldine Ledford and Melissa Strickland watch as State Sen. Steve Gooch and State Rep. Will Wade unveil the Officer Carol Leigh Ledford Memorial Intersection sign.

Pastor Wesley Purcell opens Friday's ceremony with an invocation.

Clay Bridges, former Clarkesville police chief and retired Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent, talks about hiring Officer Carol Leigh Ledford when he was in Clarkesville.

District 51 State Sen. Steve Gooch presents a copy of Senate Resolution 519 to Officer Carol Leigh Ledford's mother, Geraldine Ledford of Clarkesville.

White County Commission Chairman Travis Turner, foreground, and Cleveland Police Chief Jeff Shoemaker listen during Friday's intersection dedication.

Former Enotah District District Attorney and current State Rep. Stan Gunter listens as District 51 State Sen. Steve Gooch reads Senate Resolution 519.

Aaron Autry, who was Officer Carol Leigh Ledford's first partner at Cleveland Police Department, shares about her during Friday's intersection dedication.

Members of Cleveland Police Department and the City of Cleveland hold one of the Officer Carol Leigh Ledford Memorial Intersection signs after Friday's ceremony.

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