An injured woman whose husband was killed in a Waynesboro wreck with a Richmond County sheriff’s deputy has filed a wrongful death lawsuit and other claims against Richmond County.
Donna Fager names Richmond County Sheriff Gino Brantley and then-Sheriff Richard Roundtree as defendants in the lawsuits, which seek damages related to the March 26, 2023, collision.
According to the wrongful death complaint, Jay B. Fager was driving a 2021 Toyota Rav 4 with Donna Fager as a passenger when the vehicle stopped at Cohen Road and U.S. Highway 25 in Waynesboro.
As Fager was making a left turn onto Highway 25, Deputy Ty Dailey was traveling 90 miles per hour in a 55-mile-per-hour zone and struck the driver’s side of the Fagers’ car, the lawsuit contends.
Dailey, who was driving his patrol vehicle, was not responding to an emergency call, was not in pursuit of a suspect and did not have his lights or siren activated, the suit says.
Dailey was outside his Richmond County jurisdiction, driving to a training session in Brunswick, when the wreck occurred, according to prior reports.
As a result of the crash, Jay Fager, 75, sustained fatal injuries. Donna Fager, who lived in Blythewood, S.C., with her husband, suffered multiple fractures, a collapsed lung, respiratory failure, hemorrhagic shock and other medical problems. Donna Fager’s personal injury complaint states she incurred over $300,000 in medical expenses.
The lawsuits, filed March 7 by attorney Shawn Merzlak in Richmond County Superior Court, allege Dailey’s speed and failure to follow proper law enforcement vehicle operation procedures directly caused the crash. It accuses the Augusta government and Richmond sheriff’s office of negligence in hiring, training and supervising personnel.
Dailey was placed under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol after the crash. State patrol warrants accused him of homicide by vehicle in the second degree, a misdemeanor, and speeding 90 miles per hour in a 55 mile-per-hour zone.
Dailey remains employed with the sheriff’s office as a deputy in court services.
Jay Fager, an Army veteran and retired banker, had held prominent roles with Kiwanis in Indiana prior to relocating south, according to previous reports.
