Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia
End of Watch: Thursday, February 27, 1997
Age: 47
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Date of Incident: February 27, 1997
Weapon Used: Automobile; Commercial
Suspect Info: Charged with homicide
Correctional Officer Carlton Cherry, Correctional Officer Wayne Griglen, Officer Eddie Davis, and Sergeant Tommie Goggins were killed in an automobile crash while returning from an Emergency Response Team training class.
As they were driving on I-75, six miles south of Tifton, a tractor-trailer forced them off of the road and directly into the path of two tractor-trailers heading in the opposite direction. Both semis struck the van simultaneously. Two of the officers were thrown from the van, and the rest were trapped inside. Eight other officers who were riding in the van were hospitalized.
The driver of the semi that caused the crash was charged with several offenses, including four counts of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.
Officer Cherry was a United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He had served with the Georgia Department of Corrections for eight years and was assigned to the Rutledge Correctional Institution.
He is buried at Fort Benning Main Post Cemetery at Fort Benning, Muscogee County, Georgia.