The District Attorney of Hall County has recused his office from taking any action in a case involving a Hall County Sheriff's Deputy who was fired for his alleged role in a fatal Gainesville car crash.
Lee Darragh said the decision was made due to a conflict of interest in the district attorney's office.
"Because this Deputy is closely related to a District Attorney's office employee, I had to immediately recuse my office from any action or decision making on this case," Darragh said in a press release.
The Georgia Attorney General has been asked to provide a conflict prosecutor on the matter. Darragh said that process was underway at last report.
AccessWDUN has reached out to the Georgia Attorney General's office for more information but had not received a response at the time of this article's publishing.
Former Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Buchanan, 31, of Homer, was off-duty and driving his marked patrol car southbound on Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville on March 3. The Georgia State Patrol said he was allegedly driving at a high speed when he struck the driver's side of a 2006 Lexus LS430 at the intersection with Nix Drive.
The driver of the Lexus, Jon William Jones, 84, of Gainesville, died as a result. His wife, Doris Claudine Jones, 81, was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Buchanan was charged with speeding, reckless driving, serious injury by vehicle and vehicular homicide.
