Statesboro police and the Georgia State Patrol are asking any witnesses of the hit-and-run that claimed the life of Tormenta FC 2 soccer player Carter Payne over the weekend to come forward with information.
As of late Monday afternoon, the agencies had no description or video of a motor vehicle that struck Payne, 20, as he crossed Fair Road on a Lime electric scooter from near Food World and Arby’s in the direction of the Georgia Southern campus before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Bulloch County Emergency Medical Service and Statesboro Police Department were dispatched at 1:27 a.m. The first SPD officer arrived on the scene at 1:28 a.m., and an EMS ambulance at 1:32 a.m. By 1:41 a.m., they were headed to the hospital, according to Statesboro Police Chief Mike Broadhead, who checked the incident logs.
“It seems like we received a couple of phone calls, like somebody called and said, ‘It looks like somebody’s crashed their scooter in the street.’ They didn’t stop,” Broadhead said. “By the time the officers arrived, his teammates had found him and pulled him out of the roadway, and then they started doing lifesaving care at that point.”
Payne had apparently been out with his friends in the neighborhood but was alone at the time he was struck, Broadhead said. Sources with Tormenta FC said that the group had been at Cookout, a restaurant north of Arby’s and Food World on the east side of Fair Road, which is part of Georgia Highway 67.
An SPD officer, Sgt. Jennifer Strosnider, drove the ambulance to allow the two EMS paramedics to remain in the back and work together on life-sustaining measures as Payne was transported to East Georgia Regional Medical Center, Broadhead said.
Payne was treated briefly at EGRMC, but Bulloch County EMS was requested shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday to transport him to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, the nearest Level I trauma center. The transfer was made by ground ambulance since Air Evac was not flying because of weather conditions, Bulloch EMS Assistant Director Brian Hendrix confirmed.
Tormenta mourns
The South Georgia Tormenta FC soccer franchise announced late Saturday evening that Carter Payne had died of his injuries.
“A member of Tormenta FC2’s 2022 USL League Two team, Payne was a tremendous athlete, teammate and friend, and he will be sorely missed by everyone involved at the club. …,” the statement declared. “Carter’s family, friends and the entirety of Tormenta Nation are grieving today.”
Statesboro police had turned over responsibility for investigating the hit-and-run to the Georgia State Patrol. This is done after accidents with very serious injuries or fatalities because the local police have nothing comparable to the GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, or SCRT, with its expertise, Broadhead explained.
A preliminary accident report had not been released Monday afternoon, and GSP Trooper First Class 3 Jamey Holloway, who was reportedly preparing it, was not reached for questions. GSP Post 45, Statesboro, Secretary Ginger Robbins said that the SCRT’s in-depth report is typically completed in 30 to 60 days.
After she relayed a request for preliminary information, Trooper First Class 3 Gerald Lyles with the Georgia State Patrol SCRT in Dublin responded with “the basic” in an email. He referred to the hit-and-run as having occurred “in front of Arby’s,” and indicated the direction investigators believe the vehicle that hit Payne was traveling.
“An unknown vehicle was traveling south on Fair Road,” Lyles wrote. “The scooter (pedestrian) was traveling from Cookout across Fair Road. The unknown vehicle struck the scooter (pedestrian) with the front of vehicle. The unknown vehicle left the scene of the accident.”
No known video
Despite the location near restaurants and other businesses on a strip of highway that is often very busy earlier in the day, police and troopers reported having found no video of the occurrence by Monday.
SPD officers arriving at the scene had body-worn cameras, Broadhead noted. But those would provide video of the aftermath, lifesaving efforts or start of the investigation rather than the collision itself.
In early 2021 the Statesboro Police Department installed a contracted service called Fusus, providing real-time video to police headquarters from a network of participating private camera systems at locations such as apartment complexes and businesses. The archived video has helped police solve some crimes, including a homicide in April.
But neither Fusus nor any traffic cameras cover the area of the fatal collision.
“To the best of my knowledge we have not found any relevant video, but we do not have Fusus partners right in that area,” Broadhead said. “I know GSU was asked about it. They didn’t have any campus video that covers that area.”
The newspaper sent some questions to the university’s communications office Monday but had not received answers by press time. Some university parking lots are across from Arby’s and Food World.
When asked in an email whether “unknown vehicle” meant the State Patrol had no descriptions or video for release, Lyles replied, “No eyewitnesses or video.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Statesboro Police Department at (912) 764-9911 or the Georgia State Patrol at (912) 688-6999. Anonymous tips may be left at tips@statesboroga.gov.
Big Ten scholar athlete
In addition to his spot on the Tormenta roster, Payne was a defender with the University of Michigan, by way of Phoenix, Arizona. While at Michigan, Payne was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2020 and received a U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award in 2019.
On Tormenta's website, his bio reads:
"Carter Payne hails from the Big Ten Conference, one of the top collegiate conferences in the United States, where he brings two seasons of playing experience at the University of Michigan. Payne held down the Michigan backline for 18 matches in 2019 and 2020. The defender also spent the 2021 USL League Two season with PDX FC where he played in seven matches and 585 minutes for the Oregon-based club. While on the pitch, Payne helped the PDX defense record one clean sheet and aided the team to a second-place standing in the Northwest Division."