Langdale Vallotton, LLP - 1007 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia, 31601

Child Seriously Injured During Annual Christmas Parade

On Saturday, December 3, a child was seriously injured during the City of Valdosta’s Annual Christmas Parade

According to the Valdosta Police Department, the accident happened when three year old London Herring, a student at a local Coastal Plain Head Start school, somehow fell off the school flat-bed truck which was an A-1 Towing float and fell under the tires of the trailer. It appears that he was trying to stand up when his jacket got caught on a piece of the trailer and it pulled him over the side and he struck the ground.

He was was transported by EMS to SGMC and then “Life Flighted” to Shands Hospital in Florida where is was described in critical condition, but stable. He is now beginning to eat and is recovering slowly.

No foul play is suspected and the accident is still under investigation.

This was the second year parents of Coastal Plain Head Start registered and designed a float for the parade.

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Two People Die in a Car Wreck

On Saturday, November 12, two people died in a car wreck.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, the accident happened on Ga. 125, around a tenth of a mile south of Palmetto Pines Lane in Lanier County at about 6 p.m. A 2002 Dodge Dakota being driven 70 year old Linda Gale Gillis, of Ray City by crossed the centerline into the northbound lane and hit the front end of a 2006 Ford Mustang being driven by 68 year old Jean Bavender Remington also of Ray City.

Both were declared dead at the scene.

In the Dakota there was a juvenile passenger who was taken to South Georgia Medical Center with injuries to her lower extremities.

According to the investigation, Gillis was unrestrained at the time of the collision and Remington and the juvenile passenger wore seat belts. Airbags deployed in both vehicles.

The investigation also revealed that the Dakota did not have its headlights on at the time of the collision which may have been a contributing factor in this crash. At this stage drugs or alcohol are not thought to be involved and no charges will be filed.

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Man Indicted Following Fatal Car Crash

A man has been indicted following a fatal car crash in May which killed a woman from Valdosta.

According to court records, Anthony Curtis Smith has been indicted on two counts of homicide by vehicle in the first degree, as well as two counts of hit and run, reckless driving, serious injury by vehicle, driving on the wrong side of the roadway and driving while license suspended.

The accident happened at around 9 a.m. on May 4 this year when two vehicles crashed head on in the 200 block of Norman Drive, near the offices of Colquitt EMC. The F 150 flipped and Smith, who was driving the GMC fled the scene on foot but was chased and caught by bystanders who took him back to scene and handed him over to the police.

The driver of the F150 was extricated and was taken to South Georgia Medical Center with two fractured legs. The passenger was 22 year old Shelby Morton of Valdosta and although conscious after the accident she was taken to hospital and died following surgery.

The investigation revealed that Smith had caused the accident when he crossed the center line and hit the F150 head on.

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Man Dies and Two Seriously Injured in Two Vehicle Collision

On Thursday, September 1, a man died and two were seriously injured in a two vehicle collision.

According to Georgia State Patrol, the accident happened early on Thursday morning shortly before 7 a.m. A Ford F-150 being driven by 70 year old Alberto Vargas was travelling southbound on Ga. 31 in Lanier County and it collided head-on with a northbound grey 2013 Volkswagen Passat being driven by 22 year old Louis Thompson of Valdosta which moved into the southbound lane. Following the impact, the Passat spun, and the F-150 overturned, ending up in the middle of the roadway.

The front seat passenger in the pickup was Julio Perez and although wearing a seat belt he was killed at the scene. The driver, Vargas was not restrained and he suffered a head injury. Also unrestrained was one of the back seat passengers 62 year old Fernando Baltazar and he suffered internal injuries but 25 year old Christian Rodriguez, aged 25, , who was restrained only suffered minor injuries.

An ambulance took Vargas and Baltazar to South Georgia Medical Center where were both listed in critical condition.

The investigation is ongoing but it is believed that Thompson may have been fatigued.

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Valdosta Company’s Operated Ferris Wheel had Mechanical Failure

Police have revealed that the incident at Tennessee’s Greene County Fair which threw three children from a Ferris Wheel was caused by mechanical failure.

At a news conference on Tuesday, August 9, police said that due to the failure on the ride, which is owned and operated by Family Attractions Amusement Company of Valdosta, the basket which the three girls were in, overturned and they fell 30 to 45 feet onto the ground below. He did not confirm that some witnesses said the basket was already faulty and rocking before the girls boarded it.

Following the fall, one of the girls, aged 6, suffered a traumatic brain injury and the incident led to improved regulations in Tennessee as to how rides at amusement parks and fairs are regulated, with private inspectors now being used rather than state employed ones. The new regulations also apply to zip lines as well as Ferris wheels and roller coasters.

Family Attractions Amusement Company is declining to comment on the incident.

If you have been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Man Dies Having Been Injured in a Wreck

On Thursday, July 7, a man from Mitchell County died having been injured in a wreck on May 16.

The accident happened when George “Sambo” McLeod Jr. was driving a semi tractor trailer which left the roadway near Ellenton around midnight. The truck went off the west shoulder of the road, struck a ditch embankment with the right side of the truck then hit a culvert. McLeod was airlifted to a Macon hospital, and died on Thursday at Willson Hospice in Albany.

Some three days after, on May 19 there was another big rig accident in Colquitt County when 64 year od Freddy Norris of Valdosta crashed on Highway 133 North about four miles south of Doerun. He was hauling a tanker trailer carrying used motor oil and his truck burst into flames. A bystander, Murphy, a county employee tried to pull him from the rig but to no avail.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

No Charges in Death of Valdosta Teen, Kenrick Johnson

On Monday, June 20, federal authorities said they will not be charging anyone in the death of Valdosta teenager Kendrick Johnson.

Back in January 2013, Johnson’s body was found inside a rolled up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta. His parents felt he had been killed and even named who they suspected of being responsible in a civil wrongful death lawsuit.

However, federal investigators believe it was a tragic accident and have said there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges and they have closed the investigation. They believe he became trapped in the mat but the family maintain that the school and local law enforcement covered up what was a killing and they named Brian Bell as responsible, who was not only a classmate but also the son of an FBI agent.

However Bell was ruled out by witnesses and surveillance footage and the FBI have cleared him of involvement.

The family will now meet with the federal authorities but have not ruled out filing another lawsuit, having withdrawn the other one while waiting for the outcome of the investigation.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Head on Collision Leads to Fatality

On Wednesday morning, May 4, there was a head on collision in Valdosta which lead to a fatality.

According to police, the accident happened at around 9 a.m. in the 200 block of Norman Drive in Valdosta. Two vehicles, a GMC Terrain being driven by Anthony Curtis Smith and a Ford F150, were involved in a head-on collision when the GMC Terrain which was traveling southbound on Norman Drive, crossed over the center line into the northbound lane and struck the Ford F150 head-on which lead to the Ford F150 overturning.

Smith fled the scene on foot but was chased by bystanders who took him back to the scene of the accident where he was detained by police.

The driver of the Ford F150 had to be extricated and was taken to South Georgia Medical Center by EMS with two fractured legs and is in stable but critical condition.

The front seat passenger of the GMC, 22 year old Shelby Morton, of Valdosta, Georgia, was also taken to South Georgia Medical Center where she later died from her injuries.

Smith was charged with driving with a suspended license, driving on the wrong side of the road, leaving the scene of an accident and homicide by vehicle and was detained in the Lowndes County Jail.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Valdosta Man Arrested for Fatal Motorcycle Crash

On Thursday, April 7, a man was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash.

On April 3, there was a hit and run accident on the 100 block of Fairview in Daytona Beach. Roger Martin, aged 41 died at the scene and officers believed the vehicle involved was a dark colored van or an SUV. The vehicle was eventually traced to belonging to Stanley Warren in Valdosta.

Christopher Moore, aged 19 was driving the van and following discussions with Warren and another passenger in the vehicle, Travvon Rutledge, it appears that he deliberately rammed Martin’s motorcycle having sped through a red light to catch him. The pair had been involved in a fight outside a café in Daytona Beach earlier.

Moore, who was a high school student at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, was extradited to Volusia County

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.

Fatal Crash on Inner Perimeter Road

On Sunday, March 6, there was a fatal crash on the Inner Perimeter Road.

According to the Georgia State Patrol the accident happened shortly after 3 a.m. on the Inner Perimeter Road, approximately a half mile north of US 41.

A green Chrysler 300 being driven by 49 year old Arica Ondrae Henderson of Valdosta was traveling south on Inner Perimeter Road and tried to turn, but the car went off the shoulder of the roadway into the grass median where it struck a culvert, and the vehicle overturned. It flipped several times into the northbound lanes of Inner Perimeter Road before ending up on the east shoulder of the road on its roof.

Although Henderson was using a seat belt he was partially ejected from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police believe that speed and alcohol may have been contributing factors and are awaiting a toxicology report and the result of the investigation.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our Valdosta accident attorneys are ready to stand up and fight for you. Please do not wait until time runs out to take legal action. Call Langdale Vallotton, LLP, at (229) 244-5400 or contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation right away.