Resident urges Oconee County action after son killed on Cullum Ferry Road

Jeff Morgan, an Oconee County resident, told the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on April 1 that his son was killed about a month earlier in a single-vehicle crash on Cullum Ferry Road and urged the county to pursue safety changes.

Morgan said his son was not speeding, was wearing a seat belt and was not using his phone at the time of the crash; the family tracks the son's phone, he said. ‘‘It was a straightaway, and something happened, and we don't know what,'' Morgan said during the meeting's public-comment period.

Morgan described multiple recent collisions on the corridor, including at least two incidents at the intersection of Astondale and Cullum Ferry Road, which he said occurred within weeks of one another. He told commissioners that repaving has led to higher travel speeds and that the road carries a mix of vehicles — farm equipment, logging trucks, diesel trucks and bicyclists — creating safety risks.

He asked the board to consider speed-control tools, reduced-speed signage, measures to limit unsafe passing on curves and a four-way stop at Astondale and Cullum Ferry Road. ‘‘If you make it a 4-way stop, it might not stop all the accidents, but it's gonna slow the accidents down,'' Morgan said. He also suggested adding a bike lane.

Morgan closed by asking commissioners to report back at the next meeting with specific changes: ‘‘Come back next month and tell me what's gonna happen and what changes are gonna be made.''

The remarks occurred during the meeting's public-comment segment and did not include a formal county action on the road. Commissioners did not record a motion or vote on Morgan's requests during the April 1 meeting.

The board heard other routine announcements during the meeting but took no immediate action on Cullum Ferry Road at this session.