Deputy Sheriff Joe C. Stewart, Jr.

Joe C. Stewart, Jr.

Deputy Sheriff Joe Stewart and Corporal James Tarver were struck and killed by a vehicle as they and a George State Patrol trooper investigated an earlier accident on State Route 93, four miles west of Griffin, at about 7:10 pm.

They were measuring skid marks on the northern side of a hill crest when an 18-year-old man driving a small pickup truck northbound on Highway 92 came over the hill and, not being able to see the officers in time, first struck Deputy Sheriff Stewart, who died on the scene, and then hit Corporal Tarver. Corporal Tarver died en route to the hospital.

The driver was not charged due to what was decided by the officers' negligence for not warning oncoming drivers of their presence in the roadway.

Deputy Stewart was a United States Army Air Corps WWII veteran. He was survived by his wife and children. His father-in-law and grandson also served in law enforcement.