Florida teenager killed in Saturday wreck

Published 8:33 pm Sunday, June 9, 2013

A Quincy, Fla., teenager died in a two-vehicle accident Saturday night in Bainbridge, according to officials with the Georgia State Patrol’s Colquitt, Ga., post.

The accident happened at approximately 8:30 p.m. Saturday night at the intersection of State Route 97 South and the State Route 97 South Connector, also known as Old Quincy Road.

Joshua Timothy Wilder, 16, of Quincy, died as a result of injuries he received when his pickup truck collided head-on with another truck. His passenger, 15-year-old Lucas Dowling Shiver, of Quincy, suffered a broken leg.

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According to a GSP accident report filed by Trooper First Class David Fretwell, Wilder was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado north on State Route 97 South toward Bainbridge, when he attempted to pass a stopped vehicle that was attempting to turn left onto Old Quincy Road.

The front of Wilder’s truck struck the front of a 2001 Ford SRW Super Duty truck, driven by Tyler Chad Braswell, 16, of Brinson, Ga.

Wilder’s truck spun around counter-clockwise and came to an uncontrolled final rest on State Route 97 South, facing south, approximately 62 feet south of the point of impact, Fretwell reported. Braswell’s truck continued south and left the roadway, onto the west shoulder of State Route 97 South, facing south, approximately 55 feet from the point of impact.

According to the GSP report, Wilder was taken by emergency medical helicopter to Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital, where he later passed away. Shiver was also taken to Memorial Hospital by emergency medical helicopter.

Braswell had a non-serious injury to his head, while his passenger, 17-year-old Anna Barber of Bainbridge, had a non-serious injury to one of her legs. Both Braswell and Barber were taken to Memorial Hospital by ambulance for treatment.

Neither Wilder nor Braswell were wearing their seat belts, according to the report. Shiver was not wearing a seat belt, but Barber was wearing both lap and shoulder seat belts.

Under Georgia law, drivers under the age of 18 are required to wear their seat belts at all times while operating a passenger vehicle. Drivers ages 18 years or older are exempted from wearing their seat belts if they are driving an off-road vehicle or pickup truck in connection with agricultural pursuits.

Front seat passengers are also required to wear their seat belts at all times, regardless of age.