Judge rejects charge against Georgia lawmaker in hit-and-run

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge dismissed a charge Tuesday against a Georgia state lawmaker, saying his failure to call 911 when a friend called him about a fatal wreck is not a crime.

Polk County Superior Court Senior Judge Stephen Schuster ruled Rep. Trey Kelley could not be charged with reckless conduct because prosecutors did not claim the Cedartown Republican had committed an underlying crime.

“No reading of either the hit and run statute or the reckless conduct statute leaves a reasonable person with the impression that a disinterested third party, not present for an automobile accident, who later learns of the purported accident is under a legal duty pursuant to the reckless conduct statute to immediately contact 911,” Schuster wrote.

Ralph “Ryan” Dover III hit Eric Keais on Sept. 13, 2019 ,in Cedartown with his SUV. Instead of calling 911, he called his friend, Kelley, officials have said. Kelley in turn called Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome at home, according to authorities. An officer was sent to the area, unaware someone may have been injured, and eventually found Keais lying in a ditch, gravely wounded. Keais died from his injuries soon afterward.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/judge-rejects-charge-against-georgia-lawmaker-in-hit-and-run/ar-AAS3IIA