CARNESVILLE — The man whose vehicle struck and killed Franklin County Deputy Sheriff William “Bill” Garner on Interstate 85 Sunday night has been released from jail.
A Franklin County magistrate judge on Tuesday set bond for Abdulhafiz Tawfik Abdullahi, 21, of Lawrenceville at $50,000 for the first-degree vehicular homicide charge.
Conditions of that bond include that Abdullahi, an Ethiopian national, must surrender his passport and cannot leave the state.
Abdullahi posted that bond Tuesday afternoon and was released from the Franklin County Detention Center.
Abdullahi’s 2018 Honda Accord was traveling south on Interstate 85 near Exit 164 in Carnesville Sunday night when the driver lost control and exited the roadway into the median, striking Garner.
At the time he was struck, Garner was outside his vehicle and had crossed the cable barrier to assist the occupants of a vehicle that wrecked going southbound on the interstate.
“Officer Bill Garner arrived on the scene,” said Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas. “His car was parked northbound against the wire. He goes over the wire to check on the people in the accident. The last radio traffic that I remember hearing is that he had their driver’s license and tag number going to give to 9-1-1 to get them to run it.”
That’s when the vehicle left the wet roadway and struck Garner.
“Next thing we heard, Dispatch was calling me at home and told me my officer had been involved in an accident,” Thomas said. “It took me about 10 or 12 minutes to get to the scene, but while I was en route to the scene I received another call that said they had Officer Garner en route to the hospital and that things didn’t look good.”
Garner had been with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for just over one year. After putting himself through the police academy in 1998, he served for years with police departments in Jefferson, Norcross, Duluth, Braselton and Pendergrass, and served as a deputy with Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.
“Deputy Garner was a special kind of person,” Thomas said. “He was a team player. He always wanted to help his other folks, but he loved working traffic. That’s what he was doing. He was out there responding to help the people in the wreck.”
Services set for Deputy Garner
A visitation for Garner will be held from 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 24, at Smith Funeral Home, 7555 Atlanta Highway SE, Winder.
A celebration of life service for Garner, with law enforcement honors, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 25, at Bethlehem Church-316 Campus, 548 Christmas Avenue, Bethlehem.
Agencies wishing to be part of the funeral escort should arrival at Smith Funeral Home by noon Saturday to line up for the procession.
“I ask for prayers for his family and my officers, because this is a really tough time,” Thomas said.
In addition to praying for Garner’s wife, parents and brother, Thomas also is praying for the individual charged with causing his death.
“Our heart and prayers go out to them,” Thomas said. “Also, it goes out to the driver of the vehicle that struck him.”
