A man charged in a fatal crash in 2017 when he drove a car into a Swainsboro fast-food restaurant is awaiting a judge's decision as to whether he meets criteria for admittance to a mental health facility.

Oliver Baylen Cope, now 19, was found "not guilty by reason of insanity" in December when Emanuel County Superior Court Judge Kathy S. Palmer accepted his plea regarding the Sept. 28, 2017, crash that killed one woman and injured seven victims.

Upon accepting the plea, "the court held a hearing as required by OCGA § 17-7-131(e) and as anticipated in the order accepting the plea of not guilty," said Dan Snipes, Cope's attorney.

The hearing took place Friday in Emanuel County Superior Court. As of 5 p.m. Monday, Palmer had not made a ruling.

In December, when Palmer accepted Cope's insanity plea, the court ordered Cope to be detained by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for an evaluation of his present mental condition.

Palmer is reviewing reports from the department regarding his current mental health status and whether he meets criteria for "inpatient commitment under Chapter 3 of Title 37 or Chapter 4 of Title 37 of the Georgia Code as required by to O.C.G.A. § 17-7-131(d)," Snipes said.

In December, Palmer ruled that forensic reports by three separate psychiatrists were conclusive that Cope suffered from "bipolar disorder, manic, severe with psychotic features" at the time of the crash, when he intentionally drove across a four-lane highway and rammed his Dodge Charger into a Taco Bell restaurant. The act caused the death of a woman, Macy Lynn Purvis Mullis, as well as critical injury of three juveniles and four other adults.

Palmer accepted Cope's plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity and delusional compulsion" after reviewing evidence and testimony from the three psychiatrists during the December trial.

All three psychiatrists, in separate and independent examinations, stated that at the time of the crash, Cope was "suffering from auditory hallucinations and delusions," according to the court documents.

Doctors told the court that on the day of the fatal incident, due to his mental illness, Cope suffered "a desire to commit suicide in order to save others" and believed he could "save humanity" by doing so. They stated Cope "did not have the capacity at the time to distinguish between right and wrong" and that he was "out of touch with reality."

The evaluations being reviewed by Palmer deal with Cope's current mental condition, Snipes said.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.