Suspect arrested in death of Gwinnett County deputy ► PAGE 3
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Three people killed after truck leaves roadway
Republican Jason Dickerson secured more than 61 percent of the vote Sept. 23 to win the District 21 State Senate race.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene of a single-vehicle wreck Sept. 27 on Matt Highway near Rose Creek Drive. Three people died in the accident. The initial investigation reveals a 2014 Ram 5500 was eastbound on Matt Highway and failed to negotiate the left-
hand curve in the roadway. The truck left the roadway and struck a tree and fence. The driver, 36-year-old Jose Alvarado Macario, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two rear passengers, 24-year-old Abraham Vargas Vargas, 24, and Alberto Rios-Pintoja, 18, both from Cornelia, Ga., also died at the scene. The sheriff’s report does not include
an address for the driver. The front passenger sustained injures and was transported to a local hospital. Dispatchers were alerted to the accident at 5:28 p.m. This case remains under investigation by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Specialist Unit. — Patrick Fox
PROVIDED
Republican wins State Senate seat in special election By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com NORTH METRO ATLANTA, Ga. — A Cherokee County Republican won a crowded special election to replace longtime state Sen. Brandon Beach after his appointment to the office of U.S. treasurer. Jason Dickerson garnered about 61.5 percent of the vote Sept. 23, beating Democrat Debra Shigley, who received about 38.5 percent. Beach had served as state senator representing District 21 since 2013. District 21 includes portions of northern Fulton County and much of Cherokee County. The district includes Alpharetta and Milton. Dickerson, the cofounder of a long-haul transportation company, describes himself as a “political outsider.” His conservative platform
See DICKERSON, Page 21
ROI
matters.
FORSYTH COUNTY/PROVIDED
A Georgia Tech researcher’s app marks an area where signage could warn drivers of a severe curve on Southers Circle.
AI app could make curves safer By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Commission is exploring use of a smartphone app that could save lives on county roadways. In a Sept. 23 presentation about a pilot
study completed in Forsyth County, James Tsai, a Georgia Tech researcher, said his process uses an artificial intelligence app on phones to analyze road signage on bending roadways. Video captured by the app is compared with the phone’s GPS and acceleration and positioning data. The result identifies stretches of road-
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ways that lack proper signage and determines a safe speed of travel. “We can fix the problem before the next crashes happen,” Tsai said. “Ideally, it will change the whole U.S. and save lives, and I’m glad to work with Forsyth County.”
See CURVES, Page 21
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