Investigation continues in wreck that injured bicyclist in Auburn
Staff Writer
Published: August 17, 2009
Local Total Rehab physical therapist Ty Garner has not woken up since his accident on Aug. 8 and remains in critical condition in the ICU at Columbus Medical Center, according to his co-worker Tom Evans, also a physical therapist at Total Rehab in Auburn.
“There’s not really been much of a change,” Evans said. “He’s just kind of in a holding pattern.”
Garner was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle early Aug. 8 on Shug Jordan Parkway. Garner, 39, of Opelika was airlifted by Lifesaver helicopter to Columbus Medical Center with life-threatening injuries from the scene of the incident near Richland Road. A fellow cyclist informed officers that the man had been hit by a vehicle, a press release issued by the Auburn Police Division said.
Sunday, hospital employee Pam Boutwell confirmed that Garner was “still in ICU and he’s still critical.”
Meanwhile, the investigation into the one-vehicle accident that put Garner in the hospital is ongoing, Auburn police Capt. Tom Stofer said.
The driver who hit Garner left the scene of the accident but returned approximately 50 minutes later. The driver was identified as a 21-year-old Auburn man.
Stofer said APD is unsure if they will pursue charges and future charges depend largely on what Garner wants to do when he wakes up.
“We’re waiting on some blood results and then waiting for our accident investigation to finish our stuff up,” Stofer said.
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Reader Reactions
APD will probably never solve the murder. All they are good for is wasting money and writing traffic tickets. That makes me feel very safe though. Anyone of us could be sitting in our home in the middle of the night and someone come in and execute us. Eleven years ago a couple in Auburn were gunned down in their apartment and what did Auburn do? They were worried no one would rent at that complex, at least more so than actually solving two murders. Now that the apartments have been bulldozed and one bigger has been built in it’s place, the murders still have gone unsolved. The only reason they are yapping about this accident is because they don’t have to solve it. They will sweep the recent murders under the rug just like a lot of things in Auburn.
APD talks, talks, talks about a car-bicycle wreck, but remains tight lipped about the recent double homicide or the murder that is the loose… Oh wait. They have been busy writing traffic tickets… =\
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