Nicolas Caldwell Gravitt (left), 21, of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, was arrested last week in a serious hit-and-run incident on Scenic Highway.
According to the Georgia State Patrol incident report, GSP Officer Joe Geddie responded to a two-car accident late on Saturday night, May 27, on Highway 189 just south of Burkhalter Gap. Witnesses told the officer that a dark gray Nissan going south had struck a 1990 Honda Accord on the left side as the Honda was entering the highway. The witnesses told Geddie that the Nissan was traveling about 70 miles per hour in a 50 mph speed zone and had sped away from the accident scene, continuing south on 189.
Geddie reported he could tell from the accident scene that the Nissan had lost control, crossed into the northbound lane, overcompensated and skidded back into the southbound lane, hit the Honda and run off the west side of the highway. He said the Honda was hit with sufficient force that it spun around twice before coming to a rest. The driver of the Accord, Joseph Perry, and an 11-year-old girl in the right rear of the Accord were both seriously injured and were transported by ambulance to Erlanger.
Officer Geddie interviewed the injured pair at the hospital after completing his investigation of the accident scene. Perry had a broken hip, collar bone and rib, and the girl, who was the daughter of his girlfriend, a broken right arm.
Dade County dispatch then contacted Geddie to report that the mother of the Nissan’s driver had called in. Geddie called the mother back and she told him her son, Nicolas Gravitt, had been drinking earlier in the day and had left the scene because he was frightened. She said Gravitt was now awaiting arrest at home in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Geddie interviewed Gravitt, who took him to a friend’s house on 189 where he had left the Nissan in a field. Gravitt’s right arm and knee had also been injured in the crash. The Nissan, reported the officer, showed heavy damage to its front from the accident, including paint scraped off the Honda.
Geddie reported that four hours after the accident, Gravitt still smelled of alcohol. After administering field a sobriety test, the officer arrested him for DUI. When his breath was tested at the Dade County jail, Gravitt blew .082 and .078. The legal limit in Georgia is .08.
Besides DUI, Gravitt was charged with hit and run/duty of driver to stop or return to scene of offense; serious injury by vehicle; improper lane change/failure to maintain lane; driving wrong side of road; and driving too fast for conditions.
He was booked into the jail and released on bond Monday, May 29.
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