Crime & Safety
Alcohol, Drugs Not Factors in McGinnis Ferry Road Fatalities
The Gwinnett medical examiner has received lab results from the November 2012 head-on collision. The police probe is still in the works.
Alcohol and "common drugs of abuse" were not factors in a November 2012 vehicle collision in Suwanee that claimed two lives and injured another person, according to the Gwinnett medical examiner.
ME Ted Bailey said in an email that he has received the reports -- with "negative" results -- from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Forensic Sciences division; they were dated late December and early January.
David Dowdy, 47, of Bogart and Jean Strickland, 79, of Suwanee were killed in the head-on collision on McGinnis Ferry Road near the intersection with Scales Road. Strickland's son, Mike Strickland, was seriously injured in the November 28 accident.
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Suwanee Police believe that Dowdy's car veered into oncoming traffic at a break in the median and hit the Stricklands' vehicle. Mike Strickland was the driver.
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Suwanee Police still have not received the final report on the accident, Capt. Clyde Byers said Thursday (February 7). Lawrenceville Police helped with the accident scene and investigation, and are involved in the report.
There is no traffic light at the intersection, which sits at the crest of a hill on McGinnis Ferry Road. The accident touched off a controversy about traffic safety at the intersection from nearby residents.
"I have lived in Suwanee Station for 9 years and that intersection has gotten exponentially dangerous over the past year, especially with the increased congestion since McGinnis Ferry extension over I-85. Any talks about getting a light at that intersection?," commenter Katy said on Suwanee Patch.
Suwanee Police "hot sheets" show two accidents at that intersection since January 2011, including the November incident.
Related content:
- Suwanee Police Plan Checkpoint at McGinnis Ferry-Scales Road Intersection
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