Twiggs County: GDOT recommends no speed bumps on Cary Road following fatal hit-and-run

The Georgia Department of Transportation has recommended that Twiggs County not install speed bumps suggested by residents earlier this month, say county commissioners.

Following the July 19 hit-and-run that killed Danville resident Gyrino Stanley, residents called on the county to implement safety measures on Cary Road, including reducing the speed limit and adding speed bumps to slow down passing motorists.

County Commission Chairman Ken Fowler told commissioners at an Aug. 20 meeting that he spoke with GDOT about the potential project. 

“[GDOT] verbally recommended to me not to do it,” Fowler told the board on Thursday, adding that he was told adding speed bumps along Cary would “do more damage than it would good.”

County Attorney Kerry Howell said that the county initially wanted to wait to act on the situation until the investigation into Stanley’s death was closed.

As of Aug. 24, the investigation is still active, and without definitive proof, it’s hard to say for certain whether speed was a factor in his death.

On July 19, 45-year-old Gyrino Stanley was walking along Cary Road around 3 a.m. when he was struck and killed by an unknown vehicle. The driver has still not been identified.

“I was waiting on the investigation to be completed so that facts would be known as opposed to allegations,” Howell said. “We need to know what those facts are before we act on those facts.” 

Though GDOT has recommended against speed bumps, commissioners may still implement a speed reduction on Cary Road. What that might look like or when it could go into effect are up in the air.

Fowler told the TJP that commissioners would discuss the possibility of reducing the speed limit during an executive session.

Investigators with the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office are still investigating Stanley’s death and are waiting for results to return from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab.

Since Stanley’s death, residents have called on the county for answers.

Resident Henry Simmons created a petition that was later signed by three dozen of his Cary Road neighbors, asking the county to implement safety features on Cary including speed bumps and a reduced speed limit from 45 miles per hour down to 25 miles per hour.

Simmons presented the petition to county commissioners at their Aug. 6 meeting.

During public comment, Simmons defended his petition, using two other fatal hit-and-runs that occurred within the county to support his position. One of those fatalities also happened on Cary Road in 2003.

One woman spoke out against the potential project, saying it was possible speed didn’t play a role in Stanley’s death. While the investigation remains ongoing, there’s still a possibility the driver was driving the posted speed limit. If speeding wasn’t a factor in Stanley’s death, then building speed bumps on Cary Road could add an unnecessary strain to motorists on their daily commutes.

“I understand that we’re all reacting with ‘speed,’ but we don’t know speed was a factor,” she said.

The TJP spoke with a resident of Cary Road who said he believed speeding did in fact contribute to Stanley’s death. 

After reviewing security footage from the night of Stanley’s death, the man said he believed he had the vehicle’s headlights on camera. He said he couldn’t make out the details of the vehicle, but based on the speed of the headlights, he estimated the driver was driving around 20 miles over the posted speed limit.

The investigation into Stanley’s death is still ongoing.

If you have any information about the July 19 hit-and-run that killed Gyrino Stanley, officials ask that you contact the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigations Unit at (478) 945-3357.