Update: 5 Fatalities reported On Georgia Roads By Midday Sunday

Update: GSP Patrol spokesman confirms Alex Fowlin, who is 10 and not 11, did not die in the wreck as reported and is in fact alive and at Egleston.

It is halfway into the Labor Day holiday weekend and the Georgia Department of Public Safety is already reporting five fatalities on Georgia roads - one by authorities in Cherokee County, one from the Georgia State Patrol Post in Athens, one from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and two from the Georgia State Patrol Office in Walton County.

“Those two fatalities actually happened just after 10 p.m. last night in Rockdale County, but the GSP post in Monroe works fatalities in Walton, Rockdale and Newton counties,” said Capt. Paul Cosper of the GSP. “It was a crash after someone ran from a checkpoint. That is being handled by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, but GSP worked it because of the fatalities.”

Cosper said Derick Sylvester, 23, was the driver of the 2003 Jaguar that ran from authorities. He was transported to a hospital in Atlanta with injuries, but his two passengers, Richard Fowlin 75, of Conyers and Alex Fowlin, 11, were killed.

“He tried to negotiate a curve on Gees Mill Road while deputies were trying to catch up with him and he ran off the road, striking an embankment,” Cosper said, adding he didn't know the relationship between the two people killed in the wreck.

Cosper said charges are pending against Sylvester following completion of a Specialist Crime Response Team (S.C.R.T.) investigation.

Last year, 14 fatalities were reported statewide during the 78-hour Labor Day weekend. With severe weather expected on Labor Day, authorities are warning motorists to take extra precautions if they have to be on the roads, especially on Labor Day when conditions are supposed to be severe.

“If you don’t have to be out, stay off the roads,” Cosper said, adding at least with the Labor Day holiday there would not be the usual problems associated with work rush hour traffic. However, there likely will be motorists who went out of town for the Labor Day weekend returning on Monday. Cosper urged that motorists plan on reducing speed in accordance with road conditions.

“Slow down even more than normal and of course all the usual precautions apply,” Cosper said. “If you plan on drinking, appoint a designated driver, make sure to buckle up and don't rush. Make sure you leave plenty of time to get to your location.”