SUV Crashes into Douglasville Home, Kills Man
“What’s a safer place than sitting in a living room with your family?” asked Jeremy Bryant on Sunday, a day after an SUV crashed into his uncle’s Douglasville home and killed his uncle.
This morning the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a Lincoln Navigator slammed into 60-year-old George Michael Bryant’s house on Saturday night as Bryant watched television with his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren.
Bryant, who was a retired Vietnam War veteran, was killed by the crash. His wife Joyce is expected to be released from the Atlanta Medical Center today, and his 9-year-old granddaughter Aylisha Walters is recovering at Cihldren’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The granddaughter is in fair condition.
Bryant’s daughter and 13-year-old grandson were treated at a local hospital and released.
The driver of the SUV, according to police, was William Steward, 47, of Douglas County. Steward was taken to Grady Hospital. His current condition has not been released.
“I’m hoping he’s going to get what he deserves,” said Bryant’s nephew Jeremy Bryant.
The Navigator SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed, and it knocked down mailboxes and bushes and hit a parked car before crashing into the one-story home off Berea Road.
“I’ve been a coroner for 27 years, and I’ve never seen nothing like this,” said Douglas County coroner Randy Daniel. “Never. Never.”
Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon reported that the SUV almost went all the way to the back wall of the house, and he said, “We have no idea why this happened.”
Joyce Bryant said that she heard a boom and the lights went out. The next thing she knew, she was pinned up under the SUV and could feel the heat of the engine. It’s thought that George Bryant received the full impact of the crash.
Neighbor Mark Miller said that people often drive too fast through the neighborhood. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour.
“People just fly down this road,” said Miller. “There’s a curve right before you get to the corner. They’ll come around the curve and lose control.”
“It looks like a bus hit it,” Miller said of his neighbor’s house.
The fire department put a tarp over the whole in the Bryant home, and the family is currently staying in a hotel.
The driver’s blood will be tested for alcohol, and he could face a charge of vehicular homicide, according to Lt. Paul Cosper.
“They’ll collect all the evidence and then make the appropriate charge,” said Cosper.
Bryant was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who was on disability. He loved to hunt and fish.
“He was just a good family guy,” said his nephew Jeremy Bryant. “That’s mostly what he did, just be around his family and his grandkids.”
It’s sad to think that a family is not safe from dangerous drivers even when they’re sitting in their own living room.
If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to compensation. Call Neff Injury Law at 404-531-9700 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced attorney.
UPDATE: Steward, the driver, has been charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, failure to maintain lane, and two counts of serious injury by reckless driving. He is currently being held at the Douglas County Jail.