GEORGIA — It was Trooper Anthony Scott’s third strike.
Georgia State Patrol decided it was time to fire him. However, the judgment came a little too late. Scott’s unpardonable actions had already claimed the lives of two high school girls.
Authorities say he now realizes how outrageous his decision was to drive his cruiser at 90 mph in a 55 mph zone. Neither his lights nor the sirens were on as he bolted on Georgia Highway One in Carroll County last Saturday; he was not headed to an emergency either.
Turning onto the same highway from Holly Springs Road was a small Nissan with four teenagers, two of them confirmed to be from South Paulding High School.
The trooper was well over the prescribed speed. Perhaps, it would not be wrong to say it was an accident waiting to happen.
Scott’s cruiser crashed into the Nissan.
The two teenage boys driving the car 18-year-old Dillon Wall and 17-year-old Ben Finken survived, but the passengers in the back Kylie Lindsey, 17, and Isabella Chinchilla, 16 did not make it.
The trooper’s poor judgment cost him his job – however, students at the school say the loss the girls’ friends and family have suffered is beyond measure.
Returning to school after the miserable weekend was hard.
“It’s going to be really down, depressed, sad.
Everyone knew Kylie, everyone loved Kylie. It’s going to be really hard for everybody. It’s definitely a really big loss,” said a friend of the girls.
Chinchilla, she says, was charming person.
“It’s really hard. And she was a really sweet, beautiful, very intelligent girl,” she added.
It took the department six days to arrive at a decision that resulted in Scott’s dismissal.
He had been with Georgia State Patrol since 2011, new information has come to light suggests he was a repeat offender. He had been responsible for two crashes prior to the tragic accident on Saturday.
Captain Mark Perry, Scott’s superior, commented that the prior instances did not have anything to do with speed and/or reckless driving; however, “misjudged clearance” was what caused the accidents.
He received a verbal warning for the first one and a letter of instruction for the subsequent incident.
Speaking of how Scott feels about what happened, Perry said: “He’s crushed. He’s devastated. He regrets the action he took that night”.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether a grand jury should consider any charges. In fact, they said they would like to review the patrol’s case before making a call.
The grieving families have refused to make any comment directly.
However, the Lindsey family’s attorney says it was a senseless accident and the family is shocked that Georgia State Patrol has not made any concrete decisions after Scott’s dismissal.
They are devastated that the whole situation could have been prevented.
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