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  1. #1
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    Bluffton High teen injured in wreck undergoes surgery;

    Bluffton High teen injured in wreck undergoes surgery; friends pray for recovery
    By DANIEL BROWNSTEIN dbrownstein@islandpacket.com
    and KELLY VADNEY
    kvadney@islandpacket.com
    Published Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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    Josh George

    * Photo: Josh George of Bluffton High School chases the ball during a playoff soccer match in May 2007 against Airport High School.
    File | The Island Packet
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    Josh George had just dropped off his girlfriend and two classmates at their homes early Sunday morning when an allegedly drunken driver ran a red light and slammed into the side of his Toyota pickup, close friends say.

    The 17-year-old junior at Bluffton High School was headed home after prom festivities. Josh -- captain of the school's soccer team and an Advanced Placement student -- was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

    He was ejected through a window in the truck and rushed to Hilton Head Hospital; meanwhile, a hunt began for the driver who had sped off from the wreck.

    Because of the extent of his injuries, Josh was taken by helicopter to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, where doctors performed surgery to alleviate pressure on his brain, said school Principal Robert Anderson.

    He remained in a medically-induced coma Monday night in critical condition as the school and community prayed for his survival.

    Josh's family members and close friends spent the day at the hospital.

    Anderson said his condition is stable, but the outcome is uncertain.

    "It's been a tough day," he kept saying.

    DRIVER IN COURT

    The man accused of causing the wreck at the intersection of Buck Island Road and Bluffton Parkway just before 3 a.m. Sunday appeared in a jailhouse courtroom Monday afternoon for a bond hearing.

    He said his real name is Juan Jose Olague Roman. The 20-year-old man had been booked into the jail under the name Juan Rodriquez, a name he gave officers Sunday. His place of birth is listed as Guatemala.

    Solicitor Duffie Stone said he will attempt to indict Roman under both names before a Beaufort County grand jury in June. In the meantime, his office will investigate Roman's true identity.

    Roman was arrested at his Freirson Circle home about a half-hour after the wreck. A green Subaru with heavy front-end damage was parked at the home. Debris found at the scene of the collision belonged to Roman's vehicle based on the damage, color of the vehicle and paint that was transferred between the vehicles when they collided, said Lt. Bryan Norberg of the Bluffton Police Department.

    Roman was charged with felony drunken driving, leaving an accident with great bodily injuries, driving without a South Carolina driver's license, operating an uninsured vehicle and disregarding a traffic signal. His bond was set at $750,905.

    If convicted on all counts, Roman could face up to 25 years in prison and more than $20,000 in fines.

    As it does with every non-native born prisoner, the county jail has sent his name to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The federal agency takes up to 72 hours to investigate a person's immigration status, said jail director Philip Foot. If the person is determined to be illegal, the agency will place a hold on the prisoner, which means he would be picked up by federal agents before being released either from the jail or, if he is convicted, a state penitentiary.

    The Bluffton Police Department said it has little information about Roman's background other than he worked locally as a painter. He has no known criminal history in the state.


    Lt. Norberg could not confirm what Josh's friends said -- that he'd driven his girlfriend and two classmates home. There are no indications Josh had been drinking, he said.

    Norberg said the investigation into events leading up to the wreck is still not complete. He expected most of it to be finished today.

    A VIGIL AT BHS

    The tough school day began with the somber announcement Josh had been seriously injured over the weekend, though many students already knew about the wreck.

    A few students met with crisis counselors, and teachers devoted class time to talk about what happened. They preached the importance of wearing a seat belt, but mostly spoke about Josh.

    As school let out, the soccer team formed a circle in the middle of the field. Parents, teachers and other students held hands, forming a ring around them. It was mostly silent. Prayers were said. Tears were shed.

    "He's a strong kid," said Meredith Hamilton, a student who has played soccer with Josh. "He'll make it through."

    That optimism was echoed many times.

    "We're definitely feeling on the optimistic side and are definitely staying that way for his sister, girlfriend and family," said Coral Sterner, a cheerleader who is close friends with Josh's girlfriend. "Right now we're really hoping he'll come back. We all really miss him."

    At nearby Lord of Life Lutheran Church, a fabric sign out front read "Josh and BHS, we r praying 4U."

    Pastor Jon Heiliger spoke with two shaken students.

    "For any kid who needs someone to listen to them for more than two minutes, we're here," he said.

    Today, LowCountry Community Church, 801 Buckwalter Parkway, will open its doors between 2:45 p.m. and 4 p.m.

    'A SWEET GUY'

    Josh George is popular at the high school and in the Bluffton community.

    His mother, Cheryl, is the school nurse. His sister Jessie is a senior, and he has a younger brother, Jake.

    The family attends The Church of the Cross Episcopal Church.

    The accident that hospitalized Josh is the family's second tragedy.

    As the family's eldest son, Josh took on a head-of-household role in July 2001 when an F-16 piloted by his father, Maj. Aaron C. George, crashed near Edwards Air Force Base in California.

    Josh participated in the high school's ROTC program. He referees youth soccer and had worked part-time jobs at Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and Chick-fil-A.

    His house is a hangout for his friends.

    "Josh is just a really nice, respectful kid," said family friend Diane Ricker. "Funny as all hell."

    He can light up any room, those who know him say.

    "He's a really sweet guy," Sterner said. "Everyone loves him. He always puts a smile on everyone's face."

    Hope for his survival begins anew this morning as students join hands around the flagpole to pray for their friend to recover.

    http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/ ... 02855.html
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  2. #2
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    Bluffton teen's tragic death brings gift of life to others
    By DANIEL BROWNSTEIN
    dbrownstein@islandpacket.com
    and LIZ MITCHELL
    lmitchell@islandpacket.com
    Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008


    * Photo: From right, John Heiliger, a pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Bluffton High students Justin Howell and Jason Burns, Burns' mother Stephanie Burns, and H.E. McCracken Middle School student Wren Herschberger pray during an after-school gathering for Bluffton High student Josh George, who died Tuesday afternoon. "This shouldn't have happened to Josh," said Jason.
    Jay Karr | The Island Packet


    Josh George died Tuesday night after his family made the difficult decision to remove the Bluffton High School student from life support.

    Only George's immediate family was with him at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. A waiting room had been filled with his friends and coaches since the two-car crash early Sunday in which George's vehicle was struck by an alleged drunken driver. George was coming home from the prom at Bluffton High School.

    In their time of tragedy, the family chose to have Josh live on by helping others survive. The 17-year-old junior was kept on life support Tuesday evening while a team of surgeons assembled to remove his organs for donation.

    He will be buried after a small graveside service Saturday in Huntington, W.Va. He will rest next to his father, Maj. Aaron C. George, who died nearly seven years ago when the F-16 he was piloting crashed near Edwards Air Force Base in California.
    Related Content
    Obituary: Josh George


    * Photo: Zachary McDougall, a classmate of Josh George, pauses Tuesday to look at a makeshift memorial created by students in Josh's space in the Bluffton High School parking lot.
    Jay Karr | The Island Packet


    A celebration of his life will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bluffton High football stadium. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at The Church of the Cross, 110 Calhoun Street.

    In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Joshua Aaron George Memorial Scholarship Fund at Sun Trust Bank in Bluffton.

    Crisis counselors and representatives of area churches and synagogues will be available to students at the school today.


    * Photo: Lt. Bryan Norberg of the Bluffton Police Department, left, and Assistant Solicitor Alec Robinson examine the crash scene Tuesday. The intersection of Bluffton Parkway and Buck Island Road was closed so investigators could piece together how the crash occurred.
    Jay Karr | The Island Packet


    George was taken off the drugs used to keep him in a coma Tuesday afternoon, said principal Robert Anderson, who announced to students just before the end of the day that tests indicated Josh did not have "adequate brain function" to survive.

    MORE SEVERE CHARGES EXPECTED

    Following news of the death, Bluffton Police Chief David McAllister and Solicitor Duffie Stone announced they will meet as soon as today to discuss upgrading the charges against 20-year-old Juan Jose Olague Roman.

    Roman was arrested and charged early Sunday with felony drunken driving involving a wreck resulting in great bodily injuries, leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily injuries, driving without a South Carolina driver's license, operating an uninsured vehicle and disregarding a traffic signal.

    Those charges likely will be elevated to felony DUI involving a wreck where death ensues and leaving the scene of an accident where death ensues, both of which carry stiffer penalties, both McAllister and Stone said.

    Prosecutors also will consider a reckless homicide charge.

    "We want to determine what we believe the best charges are with the best chance of conviction," McAllister said Tuesday.

    SUSPECT'S IDENTITY UNCLEAR

    Roman was booked in jail under the name Juan Rodriquez, the identity he gave officers when he was arrested. During a bond hearing Monday, he said that is not his real name.

    It may take two weeks to determine his real identity through fingerprints and interviews with those who know him, police said.

    His bond was set at $750,905.

    Prosecutors may ask a judge to hold Roman without bond based on George's death and the possibility that Roman is a flight risk.

    They initially thought the suspect had been charged previously with DUI in Austin, Texas. But when officials compared booking photos, it appears it is not the same man, Stone said.

    Roman worked locally as a painter. His birthplace is listed as Guatemala on the jail's log. During his bond hearing, he told officials he is from Mexico.

    His immigration status also is still unknown.

    Detectives are investigating whether Roman, who says he is 20 years old, was drinking at a bar before the wreck.

    Results of a blood sample taken to determine his blood alcohol level could be known as early as today from the State Law Enforcement Division.

    DESCRIPTION OF WRECK CHANGES

    While friends and family continued their vigil early Tuesday, investigators with the Bluffton Police Department, 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office and the S.C. Highway Patrol revised their description of how the wreck occurred.

    The crash occurred at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday as George headed home after dropping off his girlfriend and two other friends following after-prom parties held at private residences, said Lt. Bryan Norberg of the Bluffton Police Department.

    George was headed east in the slow lane of Bluffton Parkway at its intersection with Buck Island Road when Roman, traveling west on Bluffton Parkway, turned left into the side of George's pickup, Norberg said.

    "This was a low-speed collision," Norberg said.

    George was not wearing his seat belt and showed no signs of alcohol use, though detectives have yet to analyze blood samples drawn at the hospital.

    He was ejected through a window of the Toyota pickup.

    Previously, authorities said Roman was headed south on Buck Island Road when he ran the red light in his green Subaru.

    The change came after investigators blocked off the intersection Tuesday to piece together the wreck and made a trip to a Bluffton impound lot where they examined both vehicles.

    Roman still is at-fault because he failed to yield the right-of-way, Norberg said.

    SLED investigators will be in town today to collect forensic evidence from the two vehicles.

    HOW POLICE FOUND THE SUSPECT

    As officers with both the Bluffton Police Department and Beaufort County Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene early Sunday morning, they quickly put out as much information as they could over the scanner.

    Witnesses saw a green vehicle headed away from the scene, and a Subaru emblem was found near the point of impact, police said.

    As several officers tended to George, another five or six fanned out throughout town looking for the second vehicle.

    Fortunately, the vehicle left a trail of car parts in its wake.

    Two sheriff's deputies -- Cpl. Laurel Albertin and Lance Cpl. Serena Nelson -- followed the trail of debris south on Buck Island Road and west on S.C. 46, said Lt. Glenn Zanelotti. When they came to a spot where the trail ended, one officer turned right, the other left.

    Within a half-hour of the wreck, the pair found a green Subaru with extensive front-end damage in the driveway of a home on Freirson Circle.

    Ten people were inside the house, police said. Roman was one of them. He apparently rented a room there.

    If not for that quick work, detectives may not have been able to charge Roman with felony DUI because it would have been difficult to prove, Norberg said. But, because little time had elapsed, "we have a much stronger case," he said.

    'A TOP-SHELF KID'

    Throughout the day Tuesday, Josh's classmates at Bluffton High School slowly realized their friend wouldn't pull through.

    They decorated his empty parking spot and hung posters in the halls. They began the day by holding hands in prayer around the flagpole.

    After the somber announcement that Josh did not have sufficient brain activity and that the hospital was off-limits to non-family members, about 50 students and some parents walked across the street for a vigil at LowCountry Community Church.

    There, they stood in silence or wept and hugged one another. Some students wrote messages on a tablecloth.

    One message said: "Josh, I know you and me didn't know each other but as a BHS student I hope that God cares for you ... ."

    Josh George is survived by his mother, Cheryl, who is the school nurse. His sister Jessie is a senior and he has a younger brother, Jake.

    Josh was captain of the soccer team and an Advanced Placement student. He refereed youth soccer and worked part-time jobs at grocery stores and fast food restaurants.

    Everybody loved him, said Anderson, the school's principal.

    "Josh is a very popular kid, a positive kid, bright, articulate, athletic, a top-shelf kid," he said. "We're talking about a great kid. We're talking about a kid whose past girlfriend still likes him."

    Friends described him as warm and goofy.

    He used to wear "little bitty" shorts pulled up to his chest, exposing his pale legs during soccer practice, said Meredith Hamilton, another varsity soccer player.

    He was a jokester who could light up the room, said chemistry lab partner and close friend David McKinley.

    "He was always funny, put a smile on everyone's face," McKinley said. "I know he'll be very missed; school wont be the same."

    Like any teenager, Josh also could be mischievous.

    But he was responsible and helped his friends get home safely.

    One of them came on the scene just after the crash.

    "I saw a black truck and tons of cops," said senior Erika Aparicio.

    "I thought, 'That couldn't be him.' He never took anything for granted. He was so responsible."

    Some questioned why bad things can happen to good people.

    "I just don't see why God would let it happen," said freshman Mike McDonnell.

    Others, though, seemed to have found an answer.

    "Josh, a person so kind will be rewarded. You are loved by all," a friend scrawled on the tablecloth.
    Services

    CELEBRATION OF HIS LIFE

    When: 7 p.m. tonight

    Where: Bluffton High School football stadium

    FUNERAL SERVICE

    When: 2 p.m. Thursday

    Where: The Church of the Cross, 110 Calhoun Street



    http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/ ... 03842.html
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  3. #3
    Senior Member gofer's Avatar
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    Immigration status is still unknown. What a joke! It should be obvious, if he was legal it would have been easy to find out!

  4. #4
    Senior Member lccat's Avatar
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    Again, as I commented on another article, "our" FAMILIES are at the mercy of ILLEGALS and their Anchor Babies being murdered, raped, infected with disease, or robbed. We can see the results of the ILLEGAL invasion in our courts every day! But NOT to worry the Chamber of Commerce will get their "cheap labor" increasing "their privatized" PROFITS, thanks to Bush and the Congressional Leadership!!

  5. #5
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    DUI, rape, murder, robbery, ID theft all in a days work for the undocumented workers sharing third world values.

    Alipacers stay on the phones, fax and email spread the alarm
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  6. #6
    Senior Member legalatina's Avatar
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    My God....I had to read this through tears as a mother of a young man much like Josh who just was at his first prom. Every parent's worst nightmare only worse when they find out this was completely preventable if our borders had been secured, our laws enforced and greedy employers wouldn't hire these people.

  7. #7
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    Immigration officials investigating driver in fatal prom-night crash
    Published Thu, May 29, 2008 12:00 AM
    By DANIEL BROWNSTEIN
    dbrownstein@islandpacket.com
    843-706-8125
    BLUFFTON -- Federal officials are investigating the immigration status of the alleged drunken driver charged in the crash that claimed the life of Bluffton High School junior Josh George as he headed home from the prom.

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    Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on 20-year-old Juan Rodriquez, who is being held on a $750,905 bond at the Beaufort County Detention Center.

    That hold means Rodriquez might be deported after he is either found innocent or serves a prison sentence, said an ICE spokesman. Citing privacy issues, ICE would not comment on whether Rodriquez is in the country legally, the spokesman said.

    The hold "... means that ICE has determined that further investigation of his legal status is warranted," said Philip Foot, director of the county jail.

    The jail automatically sends the name of every non-native born inmate to ICE, Foot said.

    A decision on whether a suspected illegal immigrant will be deported is made by an immigration court under the U.S. Department of Justice.

    Authorities still aren't sure of Rodriquez's true identity. His fingerprints were sent to the FBI, which compared them with a national database. No matches were found, said

    Lt. Bryan Norberg of the Bluffton Police Department.

    The suspect was booked as Juan Rodriquez at the county jail, the name he gave officers after his arrest early May 18, less than a half-hour after the wreck that killed George, 17.

    At a bond hearing the next day, he told the judge his real name is Juan Jose Olague Roman.

    Solicitor Duffie Stone will attempt to indict him under both names during a grand jury session next month.

    "In that sense, it really doesn't matter what his real name is," Stone said.

    Rodriquez's attorney, public defender Gene Hood, could not be reached for comment.

    Officers found Rodriquez at his home on Freirson Circle in Bluffton after following a trail of car parts left on the road. In the driveway, they discovered a green Subaru sedan with extensive front-end damage that matched car parts found at the wreck scene, police said.

    Rodriquez, a painter from either Honduras or Mexico, rented a room in the home shared by approximately 10 people, police said.

    He has been charged with felony DUI resulting in death, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, driving without a South Carolina driver's license, operating an uninsured vehicle and failure to yield right-of-way.

    If convicted, he could receive up to 50 years in prison and fines of up to $50,200.

    The crash occurred just before 3 a.m. May 18 at the intersection of Buck Island Road and Bluffton Parkway.George was on his way home from dropping friends off after the prom.

    He died two days later at a Savannah hospital.

    http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local/story/450777.html
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  8. #8

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    This was a tragic story. Once again, the MSM does us all a disservice by playing down some facts withing this story that illustrate the illegal immigration issue:

    -Roman lied about his identity and later changed his place of origin from Guatemala to Mexico. Is there any chance he did that so he could be deported to Mexico instead of Guatemala, therefore making it easier to sneak right back (had he not been charged)?

    -Proving legal status is not difficult. Either you have documents or you don't. Saying "it's being investigated" is the media's way of giving illegals a "fair shake" even when innocent U.S. teens are being killed. If they wanted to be truthful, they'd say, "All evidence (lack of documents, giving a false name) points to him probably being an illegal immigrant, but we're checking for certain".

    -Will the other TEN people living in the house in which Roman resided be checked for status? Will the city inspector investigate whether having ten occupants living in the house is even legal under housing codes? We all know the answers are, no and no.

    It's a sad state of affairs when the media goes to such lengths to ignore the obvious, even if it means desecrating the memory of a promising youth.

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