Off-road vehicle crash in Floyd County kills man, injures police commander’s brother

ajc.com

A Rome man was killed and another was injured Friday after both were thrown from a Jeep rock-crawler vehicle that overturned in Floyd County, authorities said.

The incident took place just after 6:15 p.m. as the men drove the rock-crawler along a trail near Wildlife Trail and Fouche Gape Road, police Sgt. Chris Fincher told AJC.com.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, the all-terrain vehicle was going around a curve on a steep dirt and gravel driveway when it rolled down an embankment, overturning several times.

The driver, 53-year-old John Lively, was taken to Floyd Medical Center with a leg injury, authorities said. His passenger, 61-year-old Ronald Rohler, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lively is the brother of Carl Lively, who is the patrol commander for Floyd County police, Fincher said. As a result of their relationship, the department requested that the Georgia State Patrol investigate the wreck.

Authorities said Saturday morning that impairment is not believed to be a factor in the fatal crash and that no charges are expected.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

In other news:

Channel 2?s Tom Jones was in Macon, where the attorneys said this is not the hate crime that some think it is and that there is more than one video of the shooting that killed Arbery.