One injured in crash into cemetery

Published 3:00 pm Friday, October 19, 2012

One person was injured in a Friday morning crash off Georgia 97 South in the Faceville area, according to Sheriff’s deputies.

The accident happened just after 11:30 a.m. on Hutchinson Ferry Road, a short distance east of its intersection with Georgia 97 South.

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Michael Andrew McConchie, 27, of Tallahassee, Fla., was driving a Ford Mustang south on Hutchinson Ferry Road when he ran the stop sign at Georgia 97 South, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

McConchie, who was apparently traveling above the speed limit, lost control of his car after passing through the intersection and ran off the southern shoulder of the road, Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Kines said.

The Mustang went through a grassy ditch, struck a driveway culvert next to Sylvania United Methodist Church, crossed back over the roadway and struck a chain link fence next to a cemetery, Deputy Kines said.

The Mustang crashed through the fence and struck a pine tree so hard that the tree was uprooted and split in two. The car slid sideways a short distance farther, coming to rest next to a concrete burial plot.

McConchie’s female passenger, whose name was not immediately known, hit her head against the windshield, causing a sizable crack.

The car’s hood and front bumper were also ripped off the car in the crash.

The passenger was injured in the crash and was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital by ambulance, Kines said.

McConchie was apparently uninjured but was arrested on several traffic violations by Cpl. Kenny Jones of the Georgia State Patrol.

According to the Decatur County Jail, McConchie was charged with driving while license suspended/revoked, no insurance, failure to maintain lane and failure to stop at a stop sign.