BYLINE: Jade Bulecza, jade.bulecza@walb.com
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Lowndes County, GA
Valdosta, Georgia -
Lowndes County deputies had to scramble to protect drugs and other evidence that's normally safely locked away in an evidence room.
That's because a man accidentally crashed his truck into the room.
That driver, Ivey Starling, is still in the hospital.
This truck rammed into the wall at the sheriff's office around noon.
72 year old Ivey Starling took his son Ivey Starling Jr. to the sheriff's office to get his truck that was stolen over the weekend. Investigators say it shook the building.
"I was in my office talking to someone and all the sudden a big boom and our alarm went off and I ran out and the truck was in the building," said Capt. Wanda Edwards.
"For unknown reasons he hit the accelerator and come the concrete curbing here and struck the wall," said Trooper Jeremy Kinsey.
As you can see there's damage here on the outside and inside the walls have shifted and even the air conditioning unit that cools Sheriff Prine's office has also been damaged.
Joseph Gifford is accused of stealing Ivey Starling Junior's truck around midnight from his home. Gifford was arrested on Williams School Road Monday morning.
County officials were working on a short term solution to secure the area as they assess the damage.
"It's actually our evidence room where we keep our evidence store drugs and drug paraphernalia such as that," said Sheriff Chris Prine.
"We're going to come up with some kind of blocking to cover the hole up," said Chad McLeod, the Lowndes County project manager.
Troopers are still investigating what caused Starling to crash.
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International Association for Property and Evidence
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