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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition - Nov. 18-19, 2022
FORSYTHNEWS.COM
$2.00
Ambulance driver killed in wreck
By Kelly Whitmire
kwh itm i re@fo rsyth n ews. com
One person died in a Thursday
morning wreck on Canton
Highway involving an ambu
lance and two other vehicles,
according to the Georgia State
Patrol,.
In a news release, GSP offi
cials said ambulance driver Gina
Ayres, 57, of Cumming, was
killed in the crash and three oth-
Inside
Authorities investigating
pedestrian death in crash,
2A
ers were injured. The wreck
involved the ambulance, a Ford
Mustang and a Dodge Ram pick
up buck and occurred just before
7 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17.
According to the GSP, the
ambulance was responding to an
emergency call on Hwy. 20 and
used the center turn lane to pass
traffic.
A tractor-trailer traveling west
on the road “yielded to the ambu
lance by abruptly applying the
brakes and coming to a stop,”
causing the Mustang behind it to
swerve into the center lane,
according to the release.
“A green Ford Mustang that
See Wreck 13A
An ambu
lance driver
was killed
Thursday in
a three-vehi
cle wreck on
Canton
Highway.
Jim Dean
Forsyth County
News
'The outpouring has been incredible'
Photo submitted to Forsyth County News
Aaron Davis, a North Forsyth High School graduate who was recently found dead in Rome
was described as an "awesome son" and "just friends with anybody" by his father, Randy
Davis.
Father remembers slain NFHS grad
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
The father of a North Forsyth
High School graduate who was
found dead over the weekend
described his son as an “awe
some son” and “just friends with
anybody.”
Aaron William Davis, 21, of
Cumming, was found dead in
Rome on Saturday, Nov. 12,
after his car was found aban
doned in a ditch in a park in the
city and he did not arrive at his
girlfriend’s home in Alabama.
“Saturday morning, I got a
call saying that my car was
found abandoned in a ditch up in
Rome,” Randy Davis, Aaron
Davis’s father, told Forsyth
County News on Tuesday, Nov.
15. “I explained that my son had
been up in that area, but it
seemed odd because he was sup
posed to be in Alabama by that
point. We hadn’t heard from
him, but that wasn’t atypical. He
doesn’t always tell us where he
is every day, he’s 21.”
Randy Davis said the suspect
in the case, Brandon Christopher
Inside
Man indicted on murder,
robbery charges in mom's
death, 6A
Woman indicted in deadly
wreck that killed child, 6A
Risner, also 21, was a long-time
friend of his son and the plan
had been for Aaron Davis to
stop at Risner’s home in Rome
on Thursday, Nov. 10 and travel
to Alabama the next day.
“This is a friend he grew up
with, and he was like one of our
sons that stayed at our house all
the time... just good friends ever
since we’ve lived here for the
last 11 years or so,” he said.
Randy Davis said the family
filed a missing person report
when they did not hear from his
son and “because it was odd the
car had been put in neutral and
appeared to be rolled into a
ditch.”
Randy Davis, other family
members and members of
Aaron’s girlfriend’s family trav
eled to Rome to help with the
search before authorities found
his body around midnight on
Sunday morning.
Risner, also 21, was arrested
on Saturday and is being held on
no bond at the Floyd County Jail
with charges of felony murder,
concealing the death of another,
aggravated assault and willful
obstruction of law enforcement
officers.
According to warrants taken
out for his
arrest, Risner
reportedly “was
involved in an
altercation with
the victim
which caused
the death of the
Risner victim and then
removed the
body from the location to anoth
er in an attempt to hide the
crime” and ran from and dis
obeyed all commands to stop
from police during the missing
person investigation.
A Rome Police Department
spokesperson said Aaron Davis
had several wounds that
See Davis 18A
House fire in
north Forsyth
kills 1 person
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
The Forsyth County
Fire Department respond
ed to a fatal fire on
Thursday morning,
according to FCFD
Division Chief Jason
Shivers.
Shivers said firefighters
responded to a residential
fire at 5810 Riley Road at
about 5:30 a.m. on
Thursday, Nov. 17, where
one victim was found
dead. The fire was con
tained to one bedroom of
the house.
“The fire was con
tained to the room of ori
gin,” Shivers said. “As
the crew made entry, the
fire was very small, it
was easily extinguished,
but sadly there was a
civilian victim of the fire
inside at the time.”
A roommate of the vic
tim was not injured in the
fire, and damage to the
home is “fairly limited,”
Shivers said.
Shivers said the victim
was in bed and likely
asleep and there were no
working smoke alarms in
the home at the time of
the fire.
“There were no smoke
See Fire 12A
Industrial park
continues to final
step in rezoning
ByAshlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
The proposed North
Georgia 400 Business Park
will be reappearing before
the Board of
Commissioners with a rec
ommendation for approval
despite loud and persistent
opposition from neighbor
ing residents.
The industrial park
would be on the east side of
Settingdown Road, south of
the intersection at Smith
Drive and Bottoms Road
and the Hampton area
neighborhood.
While a previous propos
al for this item was county-
initiated, it returned before
the planning commission
ers for a public hearing on
Tuesday, Nov. 15 under the
applicant The Pacific
Group Inc. of Sandy
Springs.
The applicant is request
ing to rezone approximate
ly 37 acres from agricultur
al district to restricted
industrial district for three
warehouse buildings total
ing 383,175 square feet
together with 384 parking
spaces.
Hampton residents were
particularly concerned
about potential truck traffic
on Settingdown Road, with
many stating there is
already truck traffic on the
road today.
One Hampton resident
Lindsey Reissig, who is
also on the neighborhood’s
HOA board, said she was
See Industrial 13A
Tanner leaving Forsyth for
Tanner
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
County Manager Kevin
Tanner will be leaving
Forsyth County to pursue a
position as the head of the
Georgia Department of
Behavioral Health and
Developmental Disabilities
in mid-December.
According to a press
release from the office of
Gov. Brian Kemp, Tanner’s
appointment to the role fol
lows Commissioner Judy
Fitzgerald’s retirement.
“Kevin Tanner is a capable
Ga. Dept, of Behavioral Health
and dedicated leader who
has made significant contri
butions to both the state and
his community over more
than three decades of public
service,” Kemp said in the
release. “It is thanks to his
forward-thinking approach
as head of the Behavioral
Health Reform and
Innovation Commission that
Georgia is now implement
ing meaningful improve
ments in how we address
mental health. The depart
ment will be in good hands
under his leadership.”
Tanner has served as the
Forsyth County Manager
since January 2021, working
on issues that he is passion
ate about such as traffic and
transportation.
“I would like to congratu
late Kevin Tanner on his
See Tanner12A
51/29
Forecast! 2A
Georgia
House
Speaker
David
Ralston
dies, 6A
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7
Volume 113, Number 88
© 2022, Forsyth County News
Cumming, Georgia