Police Blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports filed with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office:
Man charged with drag-racing
Police say a drag-racing incident that resulted in a wreck Tuesday on Washington Road was not related to road rage.
The wreck occurred at 5:40 p.m. near the Richmond and Columbia county line when, police say, William Lewis, 47, of the 200 block of Brooks Drive in Martinez, lost control of his Chevrolet Corvette while traveling east on Washington Road.
Police say Lewis' Corvette swerved into oncoming traffic and into the parking lot of Childs Auto Inc., where it hit a Ford Explorer and another vehicle, which struck an employee of Childs Auto.
Lewis was listed in critical condition Friday morning at Medical College of Georgia Hospital, said Danielle Wong Moores, a spokeswoman for MCG. Police say charges are pending against Mr. Lewis after his release from the hospital.
Police said Douglas Lee Neal Jr., 43, of Keys Lane in Hephzibah, was driving a Ford Mustang and was racing against Lewis. He was arrested and charged Tuesday night with participation in a race. Neal was not injured and was released on a $1,100 bond from the Columbia County Detention Center that night.
School bus damaged
A school bus that was parked in Lakeside Middle School's parking lot was reported damaged Wednesday morning.
A sheriff's deputy said that while he was conducting a building check at the school, located at 527 Blue Ridge Drive in Evans, he noticed that the bus's rear emergency door glass had been broken with a brick, the report states.
The deputy said he noticed that four of the school bus seats had been partially burned and that several pieces of burnt newspaper were scattered inside the bus.
The total estimated value of damage could not be determined at the time of the report, authorities said. The incident occurred sometime before 1:23 a.m. Wednesday.
CD player taken from man's car
The owner of a Martinez business told police Monday someone stole a CD player out of a customer's vehicle.
The owner of Maaco, 3759 Martinez Blvd., said he noticed someone had entered a Ford Mustang through the doors, which were unlocked, the report states.
The man said he contacted the owner of the Mustang, which had been left at Maaco. The owner of the car said that when he dropped the Mustang off on March 24, the CD player was not missing. The estimated value of the equipment is $240.
Car egged on Martinez road
A Martinez woman told police Tuesday that several people threw eggs at her vehicle as she was traveling on a Martinez road.
The woman, who was driving on Blue Ridge Drive, said several males threw the eggs toward her vehicle, striking it once on the right side and causing paint damage.
The incident occurred between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Photo by Valerie RowellMartinez-Columbia County Fire and Rescue workers Eric Anglisanti (left) and Brent Willis extinguish a shed fire in the back yard of a home owned by Mary Gray in the 100 block of Buckboard Court in Martinez. No one was home just after 3 p.m. Tuesday when a neighbor reported the fire, which spread through leaves and pine straw around the shed. Battalion Chief Ronald Davis said Tuesday that the cause of the fire was undetermined.