A teenage girl was taken to a Tallahassee hospital by emergency medical helicopter Thursday evening after being ejected from a vehicle during a rollover accident at the Earle May Boat Basin.

Witnesses told officers that shortly before 7 p.m., two vehicle appeared to be racing through the boat basin at a high rate of speed.

The driver of one of the cars, 16-year-old Brendon Gillis of 122 Laurel Lane in Bainbridge, lost control while negotiating a curve near the beach and playground areas. The vehicle skidded nearly 200 feet before leaving the roadway. The car rolled more than four times, ejecting 16-year-old passenger Jessica Frith of Jakin, Ga.—who was not believed to have been wearing a seat belt, according to incident reports. The vehicle rolled on top of Frith during the accident.

Frith sustained critical injuries and was taken to a Tallahassee Memorial Hospital by emergency medical helicopter transfer, which took off from the area in front of the Performing Arts Building in the boat basin.

Frith was reported to be in critical condition Friday afternoon at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Critical condition is defined as vital signs being unstable and not within normal limits, the patient may be unconscious and indicators are unfavorable.

Gillis was written a citation for reckless driving as well as the driver of the second vehicle involved in the racing, Todd Garrett Johnson, 20, of Iron City, Ga., who also received a citation for no proof of insurance.

Troopers to take furloughs

Georgia State Patrol troopers will have to take at least 12 unpaid days out of work as part of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s budget-cutting measures, the Department of Public Safety announced Thursday.

The troopers will take two furlough days in August, take at least one additional furlough day per month through June 30, 2010, and may end up having to take as many as 22 furlough days, the Newnan Times-Herald quoted Gordy Wright, public information officer for the Department of Public Safety, as saying.

GSP post commanders have been instructed to stagger the furloughs, especially during lighter traffic periods, to help minimize the furloughs’ impact on public safety.