Victim and 911 caller involved in deadly crash recall fateful night

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – It has been a day shy of two weeks since a fatal accident took the life of Hiawassee resident Terry Silvers, and FYN has been on special assignment, tracking developments in the tragic case. A grandmother and her granddaughter continue to suffer heartbreaking effects of the deadly crash, and a good samaritan who heroically attempted to prevent the harm faces the lingering aftermath of that horrific night.

Heather Segars, the 911 caller heard pleading for help in disturbing audio released by FYN, met in person with Towns County’s reporter on March 8.

Segars recounted the graphic detail of Feb. 23, a night that remains all too vivid in her mind. Segars said that she was traveling home from work on State Route 76, west of Hiawassee, when she was nearly run off the road by a white Toyota pickup truck. The soft spoken woman was visibly shaken as she described the intense fear experienced that eventful Saturday night. Segars has since entered psychological therapy, and relayed that she has been prescribed a mild sedative in order to help cope with the trauma.

Segars continues to suffer deep guilt, and said that she cannot help but wonder if she had not identified the impaired driver as Terry Silvers, perhaps Towns County Sheriff’s Office would have responded to her call. “I want people to know that I tried,” Segars said in a somber tone. “If Towns County Sheriff’s Office had done their job, not just the night that he died, but the night before, and the times before that, Terry might still be alive, and no one else would have been hurt.”

Terry Silvers, a known opioid user, was involved in one of numerous accidents in Towns County the the night prior to his death, and several witnesses, including a veteran law enforcement officer from a neighboring county, reported Silvers’ to seem unmistakenly under the influence, unfit to drive. Despite Silvers’ reported condition, Silvers was released without facing charges by Towns County Sheriff’s Office after an alcohol sensor and roadside test were conducted. The cause of the accident was listed by the sheriff’s office as shifting firewood in the bed of Silvers’ truck.

Sadly, twenty four hours after the incident, Silvers was dead, and many lives were drastically altered. In spite of Heather Segars steadfast effort to summon help, that help never arrived. In the troubling 911 audio tape, a sheriff’s office patrol siren can be heard racing to another call, leaving Segars heart wrenching pleas for assistance unanswered.

Two additional victims face repercussion from Silvers’ turned-fatal crash.

Tracie Stewart and her 13 year old granddaughter, Tathem, were traveling south on NC-69 in Clay County, NC, on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 23, a night that Stewart says will haunt her memory forever. Stewart was driving her granddaughter to Chevelle’s Restaurant, just north of the Georgia state line, to meet with friends when tragedy struck.

Stewart recalled seeing a black car suddenly brake in front of her, darting into the turning lane, while thinking that it had rear-ended another vehicle. The grandmother tells FYN that she, too, swiftly applied her brakes. “I saw the headlights right in front of me,” Stewart said. “It happened so quick, there was nothing that I could do.” As Stewart relived the fateful night, she described the accident as one of sheer terror. “I felt my arm snap like a twig. Tathem was yelling ‘Mimi, my legs are broke.'” Stewart and her granddaughter were transported to Union General Hospital in Blairsville, GA. “I discovered not only was my hand and wrist crushed, but I also had a lacerated liver and spleen,” Stewart said.

Stewart was later transported to North Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for specialized treatment. Stewart has since faced three arm surgeries, losing 3.5 inches of bone, and a medical pin was placed in her fractured foot. Fortunately, Stewart says that her granddaughter, Tathem, did not suffer major, physical injuries.

“When FYN released the 911 tape, it was horrific to listen to,” Stewart expressed. “That’s where my anger really kicked in. When (Terry) was in the parking lot of Cornerstone, when you can hear the deputy passing, and Heather (the 911 caller) was begging and pleading for an officer to pull into the Cornerstone and put him into custody… I’m not sure if my ‘rewind’ button will ever be broken as this replays in my mind. I see Terry’s face on the windshield. I think that Towns County Sheriff’s Office could have done totally different to prevent this from ever happening, not to mention that in the past, they have let (Terry) go on multiple occasions.”

FYN has contacted Towns County Sheriff’s Office repeatedly, offering opporunities to respond to the tragedy. Towns County Sheriff’s Office has not replied to our requests for comment.