The Savannah-Chatham police department’s Major Accident Investigation Team responded to a west Savannah wreck that claimed the life of a 53-year-old bicyclist.
Just before 9:30 a.m. Thursday, officers responded to Highgate Boulevard near Hampstead Parkway where a city of Savannah Storm Water Maintenance ditch cleaning crew consisting of a dump truck and long reach excavator reported an accident with injuries. On arrival officers found bicyclist Phillip Arthur Vanderburgh of Savannah lying on the ground unconscious next to the excavator’s track.
Investigators believe the bicyclist collided with the rear of the parked excavator as its arm rotated. The bicyclist and the parked excavator were in the southbound lane of Highgate Boulevard, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Vanderburgh received treatment at the scene before being transported to Memorial University Medical Center, where he later died.
This case remains under investigation by MAIT.
Warrants issued for Guyton man accused of beating stepdaughter’s friend
Warrants have been issued for a white Guyton man accused of beating a black teenager and calling him the N-word because he didn’t want the 15-year-old near his stepdaughter.
A warrant for battery has been issued against Allen Donnelly, 41, who is accused of hitting the young man “about the head and body several times with his fists,” an incident report said. The attack occurred on March 27 at a house on Westwood Drive in the Rincon area.
“The stepdad saw a black kid in the same house with his stepdaughter and beat him up,” said David Ehsanipoor, sheriff’s spokesman.
The black teenager “was there legitimately,” with the knowledge of the girl’s grandmother, who also was at the house, Ehsanipoor said.
The girl and the boy, who are about the same age, were in different rooms when Donnelly arrived, he said. They are classmates.
When the grandmother tried to stop Donnelly from beating the teenager, Donnelly grabbed her by the arms and pushed her against the wall, the incident report said. A warrant for simple battery has been issued against Donnelly for harming the grandmother, Ehsanipoor said.
The teenager was taken to an area hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.
Additional charges could be forthcoming as the Sheriff’s Office consults with the district attorney’s office, Ehsanipoor said.
Murder suspect arrested after 21 years
A man suspected in a homicide in Detroit in August 1993 has been arrested after living for several years under an assumed name in Savannah.
Through the investigation, officials developed information that the suspect, Antonio Daniels, had been living under the assumed name of Martez Deshawn Barnes.
Detroit investigators contacted their counterparts in Savannah and gave them Daniels’ possible address, and they immediately began surveillance on the site.
Shortly thereafter, investigators saw Daniels and arrested him. The news release said Daniels initially denied the allegations and his true identity but acknowledged he was the man they were looking for after being confronted with a fingerprint analysis.
Daniels, 41, is accused in connection with an incident on Aug. 8, 1993, when he allegedly was involved in an argument with three men. The argument escalated to murder when Daniels supposedly produced a handgun and fired multiple rounds, killing one and severely wounding another.
“No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, we will find you and you will face justice,” said Robert M. Grubbs, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Daniels is being held in the Southern District of Georgia, pending his extradition to Detroit.
Propane tank fire ruled accidental
A large fire in west Savannah Wednesday evening has been ruled accidental.
The fire at the American Packing and Crating facility on Norwest Court, just of Jimmy Deloach Parkway, erupted during the refueling of a propane tank for a forklift, Savannah Fire & Emergency Services spokesman Mark Keller said.
Savannah Fire’s chief investigator Fred Anderson said there was no apparent malfunction of the tank of refueling equipment. There also was no indication of prior damage to the equipment.
The blaze Wednesday afternoon engulfed several trailers containing plastic merchandise and destroyed numerous wooden pallets after it was ignited during the refueling operation. One employee received minor burns in the incident.
Animal Control schedules orientation for volunteers
The Savannah-Chatham police animal control division has scheduled its first orientation sessions for volunteers applying to work in the Sallie Mood Drive shelter.
Orientations will be held May 14 at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the shelter. They are expected to last 90 minutes and are each limited to 15 volunteers, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Those interested in volunteering at the shelter can complete applications online at http://animalcontrol.chathamcounty.org/Volunteer.
Completed applications should be submitted to jlewis01@savannahga.gov with the applicants’ available orientation time. Applications also can be submitted in person at the shelter between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily. Applicants will be emailed a confirmation.
Orientations will also be held June 4 at 10: 30 a.m. and June 14 at 10 a.m.
Caboose move to close Pooler Parkway ramp Saturday
A portion of Pooler Parkway will close for about four hours Saturday as the city of Pooler moves its historic caboose to a new location.
Pooler police will close down the on-ramp from U.S. 80 toward Interstate 95 at about 9:30 a.m. as the caboose is moved from near the police department to a new location at the park near the 1000 block of U.S. 80. The ramp is expected to reopen about 1:30 p.m.