In the first six weeks of 2024, three law enforcement personnel from Georgia lost their lives while performing their duties.
Investigators claimed that a Crawford County sheriff’s deputy died late on Tuesday after becoming engaged in a two-vehicle collision while performing his duties. The Georgia State Patrol reports that at approximately 10 p.m., Timothy Tavarus Rivers, 40, was responding to help another officer when his patrol car on Marshall Mill Road—about 20 miles southwest of Macon—crossed into the opposing travel lane.
Other fatalities this year include:
January 4: Investigators say that Coweta County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Eric Minix passed away after being struck by a patrol car driven by an Alabama police officer while exiting his own car following a chase. A stolen car was being pursued by the deputy on I-85, which went into Chambers County, Alabama.
Minix, 31, is left with his wife and three kids.
At his funeral at Crossroads Church in Sharpsburg, his father, Mark Minnix, said, “Eric loved his family, his kids, and his job.” “He never once complained to me about having to wake up early to go to work.”
Jan. 28: Investigators say that Georgia State Patrol Trooper Jimmy Cenescar perished in a collision while trying to stop a motorcycle in Gwinnett County. He was 28 years old.
After losing control of his Dodge Charger, Cenescar hit a fence, a DOT sign, a retaining wall, several trees, and big drainage pebbles, according to the investigators. The vehicle also went down an embankment. After being pulled from the debris and brought to Northside Gwinnett Hospital, he passed away from his wounds.
A man was detained and charged with murder a few days later when it was alleged that he had driven more than 140 mph to escape Cenescar.
