After allegedly ignoring a fatal hit-and-run crash in 2019, a high ranking GOP lawmaker has been indicted on a charge of reckless conduct.
Georgia State Representative Trey Kelley, majority whip and the fourth ranking member of the House Republicans, was indicted on Thursday.
Kelley’s friend, Ralph “Ryan” Dover III has been indicted on charges of felony hit and run, and reckless conduct, after he allegedly hit bicyclist Eric Keais, and called Kelley instead of 911.
Local news outlet WJCL reported that, according to officials, “Dover hit Keais while driving his SUV on North Main Street in Cedartown on the night of Sept. 11, 2019. Instead of calling 911, Dover drove elsewhere and called Kelley, who in turn called Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome at home, according to authorities. An officer was sent to the area, unaware that someone may have been injured, and eventually found Keais lying in a ditch, gravely wounded. Keais died from his injuries soon afterward.”
According to Kelley’s lawyer, the lawmaker was “fully cooperative” with the investigation. “I feel confident that Trey — who was not even in the car at the time of the collision and was called to the scene after the fact — did nothing wrong. Once all the facts are known, I believe that he will be vindicated,” Lester Tate wrote in an email.
Tate has announced that Kelley will be turning himself in on Friday, and that bail has already been agreed upon.
Kelley reportedly told police that he was unsure if Dover had hit a person or an animal, but he had also mentioned to police that he saw a bicycle on the side of the road. There was also significant damage to the SUV.
“At that time, I still did not know another human being was involved. I fully cooperated with law enforcement,” Kelley said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
