Thread: Officer Responds to Fatal DUI Crash

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03/02/06
Officer Responds to Fatal Crash

One man is dead and another is in jail following a horrendous wreck. It happened just before 10pm last night on Veterans Parkway about two miles south of the Chatham Parkway exit.

Both men involved in the wreck came from Mexico and worked construction together in South Carolina. They were on their way home when they hit Veterans Parkway and the ride took a turn for the worse.

Police shut down the parkway for four hours while firefighters dealt with this fiery crash. Police say the driver of this truck, Alejandro Mora, was driving too fast and was drunk when he lost control. The pickup slammed into the guard rail and flipped over.

"The vehicle was just mangled, the car torn from the bed, and it was an awesome sight to see," said Sgt. Todd Rhodes of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.

Sgt. Rhodes was driving home along Veterans when his vehicle began running into debris from the crash. That's when he saw the overturned truck and two men trapped inside. Rhodes pulled over, and so did a couple of paramedics on their way back to Liberty County.

"We ran over, he grabbed a leg, I grabbed on, we got him out, pulled him out," said Rhodes. "We were glad we were able to get him out. The vehicle was engulfed in fire. There was another inside, we grabbed fire extinguishers, trying to put the fire out."

But the other man, Benito Garcia, was already dead. Garcia's family and friends say he's lived in the US for a year, working construction jobs and sending money back to Mexico for his wife and child.

Garcia's family had to come to the scene and see for themselves what happened, but all that's left in a beat up guardrail, shreds of crime scene tape and paint marks left behind by investigators.

This scene will remain in Sgt. Rhodes' mind for a long time. "Just trying to get home and things happen. We do have an obligation to stop, assist and help."

He's glad others stopped too, and sorry he couldn't do more.

Mora is in jail for drunk driving, vehicular homicide and other traffic charges.

Police say Mora and Garcia are illegal immigrants. This is the third fatal wreck in Chatham County in 12 days involving illegals. The other two wrecks happened in Garden City.

Reported by: Michelle Paynter, mpaynter@wtoc.com

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03/03/06
Rhodes on Fatal Veterans Parkway Crash


WTOC was first on the scene at Wednesday's fatal wreck that shut down part of Veterans Parkway. While on the scene, we found a well-known, off-duty, Savannah-Chatham police officer who helped save another life. Sgt. Todd Rhodes was just trying to get home Wednesday night when he came up on the blazing wreck.

"The bed of the truck was on top of the guard railing, but the cab of the truck was upside down and it was on fire," said Rhodes.

He and a couple paramedics from Liberty County who also happened to be passing by immediately got to work. "Nt really a whole lot to think about, you just respond," said Rhodes.

They quickly got the driver, Alejandro Mora, out of the car. He was barely hurt. But unfortunately, his passenger, Benito Garcia, was.

"We grabbed fire extinguishers, trying to put out the fire to at least keep it down to a low roar so we could get the other occupant out," recalled Rhodes.

Before they could do that, though, Garcia had already died. Now Mora's in jail, charged with drunk driving, speeding, and vehicular homicide.

Rhodes says he wished they could have done more to help Garcia, but he's glad they were able to save Mora. "When it does happen, we do have an obligation to stop and assist and help."

Police say Mora and Garcia are illegal immigrants. This was the third fatal wreck in Chatham County in 12 days involving illegal immigrants. The other two wrecks happened in Garden City.

Reported by: Chris Cowperthwaite, ccowperthwaite@wtoc.com