Regional Roundup: Police Identify Victims of Double Fatal Accident, Gas Tanker Overturns, and Trayvon Martin Protest

Gwinnett County police released the names of the people killed Friday in . Deceased are Donna Keese, 60, and her husband, John Keese, 62, of Lawrenceville, Ga.

According to a press release, four vehicles were involved, including the grey Nissan Altima that was driven by Donna Keese. Stephen Scott, of Lithonia, driving a white box truck, was deemed the at-fault driver and was subsequently charged  with following too closely and two counts of 2nd degree vehicular homicide. He has since been released on bond.

A driver and two passengers in a blue Dodge Ram pickup were transported to the hospital with non threatening injuries. Scott and the driver of the fourth vehicle, a maroon Saturn minivan towing a small trailer with an ATV on it, received no significant injuries.

-- Dacula Patch

Police and fire crews were at the scene of an overturned gas tanker on Winder Highway near Highway 316 in Dacula Monday.

The accident, involving a gas tanker and a white Jeep Cherokee, occurred shortly after noon.

"The white Jeep Cherokee crossed the center line and hit the tractor trailer basically head on," said Gwinnett County Police public information officer Cpl. Jake Smith.

As a result of the collision, the driver of the tanker lost control of the vehicle and the tanker overturned. The tanker was carrying 8,500 gallons of fuel at the time of the accident. 

Both drivers were transported to Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville with non-life threatening injuries, Smith said.

Crews initially estimated approximately 100 to 250 gallons of fuel have leaked to the ground. However, shortly after 4 p.m.,authorities issued an email update indicating several thousand gallons of fuel may have spilled into a nearby stream.  It was expected to take several hours to clean up the wreckage and mess.

– South Cobb Patch

Several South Cobb residents, including Austell activist Rich Pellegrino, held a prayer vigil in the Marietta Square on Sunday.

The vigil was held for 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26. The shooting has sparked demonstrations, rallies, vigils and several tough conversations about race in the United States.

State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell) and State Rep. Rashad Taylor, D-Atlanta pledged during a rally on the Capitol on Monday to introduce a bill that would repeal Georgia’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Many believe a similar Florida law has allowed Zimerman to remain free.