Teen charged with felony in May wreck
Police arrested a 16-year-old Martinez girl on a felony charge Wednesday for causing a wreck that paralyzed a Lincolnton, Ga., teen.
Ashley Shay Teeters, a junior at Evans High School, was charged with felony serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving and violation of a Class D license in connection with a May 23 wreck in Appling that seriously injured Tyler Epps, 16.
Columbia County Juvenile Court Judge Doug Flanagan denied bond for Teeters at a detention hearing Wednesday.
Police said Teeters was driving about 90 mph when she lost control of her Mercury Sable in a curve on Ray Owens Road. The vehicle overturned several times and landed upside down in a ditch. Teeters and a front-seat passenger, Ian McGahee, 15, of Lincolnton, suffered minor injuries.
Epps, who was riding in the back seat, was flown to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where he was in serious condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
None of the teens wore a seat belt. Teeters held a Class D license, which prohibited her from driving nonfamily passengers for the first six months she was licensed.
She also was charged with shoplifting clothing items from Kohl's in Evans on Monday, and faces a March 30 simple battery charge and a May 6 unruly juvenile charge.
She was booked into Columbia County Detention Center, then the Regional Youth Detention Center.
Family unharmed in Martinez fire
Fire damaged a Martinez home Wednesday evening, but the family escaped unharmed, officials said.
Firefighters responded to 501 Stevens Creek Road about 9:30 p.m., said Honey Shore, spokeswoman for Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue, and controlled the fire quickly.
The house was damaged by smoke, but fire damage was confined to a bedroom and the attic above it, Shore said.
The fire was reported by a passer-by, Shore said. The homeowners were awakened by their smoke alarm and left the house, she said.
The cause of the fire was undetermined, Shore said.
The following account was taken from a report from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Evans man heard burglar in his home
An Evans man told police he woke up Wednesday and found a burglar in his home.
Just before 4 a.m. he went to the bathroom, heard the kitchen door slam and thought it was his wife.
He returned to the bedroom, found her still in bed and realized there was an intruder.
In the kitchen, he found that the screen in the window over the sink had been cut and several pill bottles on the windowsill had been moved. Nothing was taken.
Police found that a large container had been set underneath the window, which had been forced open.
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