AUGUSTA, Ga. — Authorities are offering more details into “a freak accident,” while responding to a mass shooting in the Augusta area between two rival motorcycle gangs that left two dead and at least four others injured.
A total of 12 suspects have been arrested in the shooting – three of which remain in the hospital.
During a news conference Monday, Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree confirmed a fire vehicle ran over the body of a man killed in the incident while responding to the shooting.
Roundtree said Germayne Farrell, 51, from Florida, was already dead when the incident happened.
According to a traffic report obtained by WRDW-TV, Farrell’s body was dragged nearly 52 feet by the 2008 Ford Expedition.
“He was clearing the area to get his car out so that emergency vehicles can come in and did not see the individual as he was coming off his path,” Roundtree said.
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The report said the driver failed to see the man’s body in the parking lot because “the vehicle hood and fender obscured his vision and he misjudged the location.”
Roundtree said they are giving support to the driver.
“We made sure his well-being and emotional well-being was OK, but it was a freak accident. And I know how the internet makes it seem horrific, but it was an accident. I feel emotionally for that fire personnel and what they are going through,” Roundtree said.
The driver of the fire vehicle did not receive a drug or alcohol test, WRDW reported.
When asked, the Augusta Fire Department told the TV station that it couldn’t comment on the incident at this time.
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