Two men suffered serious injuries in separate automobile accidents in Savannah late New Year’s Eve and early Wednesday. One of the men was run over by a minivan being backed into a parking spot, police said, and the other, whose vehicle hit an oak tree, was in critical condition.
Patrick Ford, 39, of Rincon was walking on the sidewalk in front of the Firestone store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at West Broughton Street about 11 p.m. Tuesday when he fell, said Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Julian Miller.
He was run over by a minivan being backed into a parking space by a 56-year-old Savannah woman, Miller said. Ford was being treated at Memorial University Medical Center for broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
About 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, a red Lincoln Navigator being driven west on Montgomery Crossroad by Spencer Tracy Mason of Brunswick entered the median just east of Abercorn Street and struck a large oak tree, Miller said. He was extricated from the wreckage by Savannah Fire & Emergency Services and is listed in critical condition at Memorial.
Both incidents are being investigated by the police department’s Major Accident Investigation Team.
Tybee police help 47 with cab rides
As part of an effort to keep drunk drivers off the road during a night known for celebration, police on Tybee Island hooked revelers up with cabs New Year’s Eve and early Wednesday morning and even footed the bill.
All that folks who had too much to drink at the beach had to do was call the department’s non-emergency line, and police would come and get them a cab to anywhere on the island. Funds for the effort came from the Tybee Island Police Association, not city taxes, said Police Chief Bob Bryson.
In all, police gave away 47 cab rides, but still wound up charging five people with impaired driving, Bryson said. The chief said there were some incidents of people calling 911 to ask for rides to other locations that served alcohol.
Bryson said the department will likely try the idea again in the future, and for other events.
“It’s about people not drinking and driving,” he said.
Islands Taxi, Breezy Riders, Dixie Pedals and Island Hoppers helped police with the effort.
Compiled by Dash Coleman