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South Carolina mayor dies in crash while being ‘pursued’ by deputy, just days after his police force quit

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South Carolina mayor dies in crash while being ‘pursued’ by deputy, just days after his police force quit

A South Carolina mayor died in a head-on vehicle crash while being “pursued” by law enforcement just days after his town’s entire police department quit, a coroner says. 

McColl Mayor George Garner II, 49, was killed Tuesday afternoon “when the vehicle he was driving collided head on with a truck” in Mechanicsville, according to Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee. 

“When the incident occurred Mr. Garner was being pursued by a Marlboro County Deputy. The pursuit was not related to any laws being broken. The pursuit was taking place in an effort to protect the wellbeing of Mr. Garner,” Hardee added, without elaborating. 

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division spokeswoman Renee Wunderlich told WBTW that the agency had an “active and ongoing” investigation linked to Garner, but could not provide further details. SLED did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. 

ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT RESIGNS IN SOUTH CAROLINA 

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George Garner II, the former mayor of McColl, South Carolina, died in a car crash five days after his town’s police force resigned. (Marlboro County E911)

The fatal crash happened after the police force in McColl – a town of about 2,000 residents near the state’s border with North Carolina — walked off the job last week. 

“It is with a heavy heart that I do confirm my resignation as Chief of Police of the McColl Police Department along with all four of my fellow officers,” Chief Bob Hale wrote on Facebook. “My personal decision to step away from the McColl Police Department can be attributed to repeated acts of harassment, personal attacks on my character, and the overall creation of a hostile work environment perpetuated by a specific Councilman.” 

Hale added that the actions of the unnamed councilman made it impossible for the department to function effectively.  

“For months, I have endured unwarranted and malicious behavior aimed at undermining my integrity and leadership,” Hale continued in the post. “These actions have not only affected me personally but have also created a toxic atmosphere that has hindered the department’s ability to function effectively. Despite our efforts to address these issues professionally and through appropriate channels, the harassment and hostility have persisted.” 

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ARREST MADE AFTER HIKER MURDERED IN SMALL MOUNTAIN TOWN SLAYING STAGED AS BEAR ATTACK 

The town of McColl’s police force quit last week, days before the death of Mayor George Garner II. (Town of McColl Facebook)

In his statement, Hale also alleged that money was cut from the police department’s budget and that other critical police needs were not being fulfilled. 

On Friday, Garner confirmed that the town no longer had any police officers and told WMBF News that the community is in a “difficult situation.” 

The town then announced Tuesday that “the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Department will be in McColl to answer any call the citizens may have.” 

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Marlboro County Emergency Management/911 described Garner as “truly a remarkable individual” who “consistently treated everyone with warmth and respect, and his kindness left a lasting impact on those around him. 

Former McColl Police Chief Bob Hale said “My personal decision to step away from the McColl Police Department can be attributed to repeated acts of harassment, personal attacks on my character, and the overall creation of a hostile work environment perpetuated by a specific Councilman.” (WMBF News)

 

“On behalf of Marlboro County E911, we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mayor George Garner. Our hearts are heavy during this difficult time, and we are keeping everyone affected in our thoughts and prayers,” it added in a statement. “May you find comfort and strength in one another as you navigate this profound loss.” 

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

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Florida boater accused of killing teen in crash avoids jail time with plea deal

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Florida boater accused of killing teen in crash avoids jail time with plea deal

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A man who failed to stop his boat after fatally striking a 15-year-old high school student and ballerina in 2024 has pleaded guilty in the deadly boating incident.

The man’s attorneys had previously noted that he did not realize he had hit someone with his vessel, according to WTVJ.

Ella Adler, the granddaughter of then-U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Michael Adler, had been wakeboarding and had fallen into the water, according to the Key Biscayne Independent, which noted that boater Carlos Guillermo “Bill” Alonso fatally hit her in his 42-foot-Boston Whaler.

FLORIDA MEN CHARGED IN FATAL BOATING HIT-AND-RUN OF 15-YEAR-OLD BALLERINA

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Ella Adler, 15, was killed in a hit-and-run boating accident in May 2024.  (Courtesy of the Adler Family )

A statement provided to Fox News Digital by Alonso’s attorney, Lauren Field Krasnoff, described the incident as a “tragic accident.”

“Our hearts go out to the Adler family. This was a tragic accident, and, of course, Bill never intended to hurt anyone that day. Bill’s decision to plead guilty was driven by his hope that doing so would cause less pain to Ella’s family and help shine a light on the Ella Riley Adler Foundation,” the statement noted.

Alonso pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor careless boating, according to The Miami Herald.

FLORIDA OWNER OF BOAT ‘OF INTEREST’ IN TEEN BALLERINA’S DEATH IDENTIFIED, AS MORE DETAILS OF COLLISION EMERGE

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Carlos Guillermo Alonso’s attorney, Lauren Field Krasnoff, helps him out of a car in 2024. (WSVN)

The teen killed in the boating incident had performed in “The Nutcracker” over 100 times with the Miami City Ballet, the Key Biscayne Independent noted.

“Ella was extraordinary. She radiated joy, kindness and creativity in every room she entered. She was a devoted daughter, a beloved sister and a fierce and loyal friend,” Adler’s father, Matthew, said in a statement read in court, according to the outlet. 

“Her life was filled with love, laughter, dance and meaning. Ella didn’t just live. She danced through life.”

JULY FOURTH BOATERS WARNED ABOUT DEADLY WATERFRONT DANGER WITH LIFESAVING SUMMER TIPS

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Carlos Guillermo Alonso exits a vehicle with his attorney. (WSVN)

The outlet reported that Alonso was sentenced to 12 months of probation as part of a plea agreement and that he is able to have his probation terminated after six months. Provided he fulfills the court’s conditions, he will be able to petition the court for his guilty pleas to be vacated, the outlet reported.

Edmund Richard Hartley, the captain of the vessel that had been towing Adler, has also been charged, but he has pleaded not guilty, according to The Miami Herald.

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Trump seeks more than $6M from Fani Willis’ office in wake of election interference case

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Trump seeks more than M from Fani Willis’ office in wake of election interference case

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President Donald Trump is asking the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to reimburse him more than $6.2 million in attorney fees and costs in the wake of the recently dismissed 2020 election interference case she brought against him. 

The development comes after Willis was permanently sidelined from prosecuting the case against Trump last September. She had lost an appeal after the Georgia Court of Appeals said Willis and her office could not continue to prosecute the case, citing an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The case was then dismissed in November. 

Georgia state legislators last year passed a law that says that if a prosecutor is disqualified from a case because of his or her own improper conduct and the case is then dismissed, anyone charged in that case is entitled to request “all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred” in their defense. The judge overseeing the case then is responsible for reviewing the request and awarding the fees and costs, which are to be paid from the budget of the prosecutor’s office. 

“In accordance with Georgia law, President Trump has moved the Court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in his defense of the politically motivated, and now rightfully dismissed, case brought by disqualified DA Fani Willis,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said in a statement.

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FANI WILLIS PERMANENTLY REMOVED FROM PROSECUTING TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE AFTER LOSING APPEAL

President Donald Trump and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

A motion filed Wednesday said, “President Trump prays that this Court award attorney fees and costs for the defense of President Trump in the amount of $6,261,613,08.” 

Willis’ indictment had accused Trump of pressuring officials to overturn the 2020 vote in Georgia, organizing “fake electors” and harassing election workers. 

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, and Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24.

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GEORGIA CALLS SPECIAL ELECTION IN MARCH TO FILL MTG VACANCY

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade and Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County (Getty Images)

Last month, when another person charged in the case made a similar filing, Willis’ office filed a motion asking to be heard on the matter of any claims for fees and costs filed in the case, according to The Associated Press. 

Willis’ motion raised concerns about the law passed last year that allowed Trump and others to seek to have their expenses paid. 

“The statute raises grave separation-of-powers concerns by purporting to impose financial liability on a constitutional officer, twice elected by the citizens of Fulton County, for the lawful exercise of her core duties under the Georgia Constitution,” her motion said.

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Donald Trump’s booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office after he surrendered on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

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Her motion also added that the law violates due process by “retroactively imposing a novel fee-shifting scheme” that creates a substantial burden for the county’s taxpayers without any recourse. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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After 2 straight losses, Democrat Stacey Abrams sits out 2026 race for Georgia governor

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After 2 straight losses, Democrat Stacey Abrams sits out 2026 race for Georgia governor

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The third time won’t be the charm for Stacey Abrams, at least in 2026.

The two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee in battleground Georgia is ruling out another run for governor this year, saying that instead she’ll focus on her work fighting what she warns is the nation’s move toward authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.

“Americans are in pain but they are ready to act, and now is the moment to reconnect to what is at stake and what is possible,” Abrams said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s clear to me that the most effective way I can serve right now is by continuing to do this important work. For that reason, I will not seek elected office in 2026.”

Abrams, a former Democratic Party leader in the Georgia state legislature and a nationally known voting-rights advocate, narrowly lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She lost her 2022 rematch with Kemp by nearly eight points.

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FLASHBACK: STACEY ABRAMS MULLS THIRD STRAIGHT RUN FOR GEORGIA GOVERNOR

Stacey Abrams, seen here at Georgia State University on Nov. 7, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia, will not run for governor in 2026. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last spring that Abrams was mulling a third straight run for governor in the race to succeed the now-term-limited Kemp.

Abrams grabbed plenty of national attention during the 2018 Georgia race, and came close to making history as the nation’s first Black female elected governor. Her refusal to concede to Kemp after losing by a razor-thin margin boosted her among many Democrats while becoming a top GOP political target.

JOSH SHAPIRO LAUNCHES 2026 GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN AS 2028 WHITE HOUSE BUZZ SWIRLS

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She launched the Fair Fight political organization following her defeat, helped Biden narrowly carry Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, and also contributed to the sweep by the Democrats in the Jan. 5, 2021 twin Senate runoff elections.

Abrams raised over $110 million in fundraising for her 2022 rematch with Kemp, but was soundly defeated by the Republican incumbent. 

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, seen speaking with Fox News Digital during his 2022 re-election campaign, is term-limited and cannot run for re-election in 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

In recent years, the political machine Abrams built has faded. The Abrams-founded New Georgia Project folded last year after being fined $300,000 for illegally backing her 2018 campaign.

And while Abrams last year considered a 2026 gubernatorial run, other Democratic candidates jumped into the race.

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Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement during former President Joe Biden’s administration, is widely seen as the front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

FRAUD FALLOUT FORCES WALZ TO ABANDON GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION BID

Also running for the Democratic nomination is former Lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan, who was elected in 2018 but declined to seek re-election in 2022. The former Republican is now a moderate Democrat. Former state Rep. Ruwa Romman and former Dekalb County CEO Michael Thurmond are also in the race.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in then-President Joe Biden’s administration, is running for the 2026 Democratic nomination for governor in Georgia. (Getty Images)

In the race for the Republican nomination, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has the backing of President Donald Trump.

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The field also includes Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

The Cook Report, a leading non-partisan political handicapper, rates the race a toss-up, while Inside Elections rates it as tilt Republican and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates it as lean Republican.

Abrams, in her statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said she’ll keep her focus on the fight to protect democracy.

“The antidote to authoritarianism and its harms has always been democracy; and I have long believed that democracy requires active engagement and staunch defenders,” she wrote.”But democracy is experienced by the vast majority through the work of government — when it fails, we are all imperiled.”

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