GSP investigates two deadly Colquitt County wrecks

Published 5:30 pm Friday, January 27, 2023

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Georgia State Patrol is investigating two fatal wrecks that both occurred Wednesday, Jan. 25.

One accident occurred when a small SUV struck the back of a farm tractor in the rain Wednesday afternoon near Hartsfield. The other took place during a police chase in Moultrie that night.

According to the GSP’s public information officer Thursday, both the John Deere tractor and the other vehicle — which Colquitt County Coroner Verlyn Brock identified as a small, black SUV — were traveling westbound on Ga. Highway 111 about 1:26 p.m. when the SUV struck the rear of the tractor.

Brock said the tractor was pulling hay-moving equipment. The GSP said it had its hazard lights activated and displayed a reflective triangle on its rear to indicate it was a slow-moving vehicle.

The PIO identified and Brock confirmed Christopher Neal Simmons, 33, of Moultrie, as the deceased driver.

Simmons’ vehicle came to an uncontrolled rest on the north shoulder of the highway after the impact, the GSP said.

Troopers responded to the second wreck Wednesday night on First Avenue Northwest within Moultrie city limits. The crash happened at approximately 10:25 p.m.

Colquitt County deputies were chasing Colin A. Terell, 31, of Moultrie, according to the GSP public information officer. Neither the GSP nor the sheriff’s office have revealed the reason officers were trying to stop him.

During the pursuit, Terell struck another vehicle driven by Verna Louise White, 44, of Moultrie, the PIO said. White was killed in the collision.

Samuel James, White’s brother-in-law and spokesman for the family, told The Observer that White had just left church and was on the way home when she was hit.

White was the youngest of six siblings, James said, and was a pleasure to be around.

“She was a young lady that everyone spoke well of. I loved her and she was just a sweet person. She was always mannerable, and she turned her life over to Christ. That was a good thing,” James said by phone Friday.

In addition to her siblings, White is survived by two sons.

Terell is now in custody at the Colquitt County Jail. The accident investigation was turned over to the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team.

James offered advice to those who might have encounters with law enforcement.

“The better thing to do is to just stop and face the consequences rather than trying to run from the police because [you’ll] just [make] the situation worse. That’s exactly what happened in this case. If he’d just stopped, I wouldn’t have [any] idea this would have happened. He wouldn’t have hit her,” he said.