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Most viewed of the year at forsythnews.com: Stories 11-15
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About this series

Over the next few days, the Forsyth County News will take a look back at the top 15 most viewed articles at forsythnews.com. Up first are stories 15 through 11, with the countdown to continue Friday and Sunday. For more on each of the news events, as well as related content, explore our website.

FORSYTH COUNTY — Despite what some national pundits would have us believe, those in the news media can’t actually predict what’s going to happen. Like the rest of us, they likely hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

In that vein, 2015 was as unpredictable as most years. A quick scan of the headlines from the Forsyth County News’ most viewed stories offers evidence of that.

With few exceptions, the articles reflect breaking news posted online at forsythnews.com as it unfolded.

Join us now as take a look back at the 15th through 11th-most viewed stories in today’s edition. On Friday, we’ll continue the countdown, presenting articles 10 through six, and then conclude on Sunday with the top five.

 

15 — Authorities: Woman slain in murder-suicide was 911 officer

 

July 9, 2015

 

DAWSONVILLE — The 28-year-old woman killed Wednesday in a murder-suicide at a downtown Dawsonville home has been identified as a communications supervisor with the Forsyth County 911 Center.

Authorities said Thursday that Erin Niccole Jones was shot to death by her live-in boyfriend about 1 p.m. at the couple's home on Maple Hill Drive.

David Geyer II, 43, then reportedly turned the gun on himself a short time later as authorities arrived.

According to Dawson County Sheriff's spokesman Johnny Holtzclaw, Jones was on the phone with emergency dispatch when she was killed.

"The female caller was in distress and reporting that someone had a gun,” Holtzclaw said in a statement. “911 operators were able to hear possible gun shots inside the home.

The couple did have small children who lived at the house, but they weren’t home at the time.

Holtzclaw said investigators are not aware of any earlier reports of domestic violence incidents at the home.

The 911 center is not part of the sheriff’s office. According to Forsyth County’s government, Jones had worked at the center since 2011.

 

14 — Teen faces DUI, other charges after crashing into steakhouse

 

Nov. 24, 2015

 

A 19-year-old woman came closer Saturday than anyone seemingly has to creating a drive-thru lane at a popular Cumming restaurant.

Logan Baylee Schick was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and several other traffic violations after her vehicle crashed into the wall of LongHorn Steakhouse on Market Place Boulevard about 4:30 p.m., according to Cumming police.

Schick’s other charges include driving on the wrong side of the road, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane and too fast for conditions.

According to Deputy Police Chief Aletha Barrett, witnesses reported seeing the 2002 Acura MDX travel across the curb and landscaping into the restaurant.

Schick, who has a Suwanee address within south Forsyth, was taken to an area hospital with what were described as minor injuries before being released into police custody later that day. She posted a $3,029 bond the next day.

She was the only occupant of the vehicle, and no one inside the restaurant was injured.

The restaurant closed for the remainder of Saturday so structural damages could be addressed, Duke said. It reopened Sunday at the regular time of 11 a.m.

 

13 — Woman charged with trying to buy baby for daughter, 14

 

Dec. 7, 2015

 

Some mothers would do anything for their child. To one north Forsyth woman, that apparently meant trying to buy a baby for her 14-year-old daughter on Craigslist.

Elaine Sunwoo Williams, 47, was arrested Friday in connection with an advertisement posted on the online marketplace that asked mothers to drop their unwanted babies off in a baby box, according to Epifanio Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

She was charged with domestic-unlawful advertisement/inducement for adoption of children and remains at the Forsyth County Jail on a $5,610 bond.

Detectives received a tip from a resident about the suspicious Cumming-based ad on Craigslist.

In the ad, Williams reportedly promised mothers they could drop off their baby in a “baby box” at her home off Jot Em Down and Hopewell roads.

In a Dateline NBC-spinoff fashion, detectives posed as an interested buyer online and arranged to meet Williams at her house.

Williams told detectives her daughter “wanted a baby and would get one with or without her help, so she decided to help.”

Her daughter, who lives with Williams, faces the same charges as her mother but as a juvenile. She is reportedly staying with relatives, according to Forsyth County Sheriff’s Cpl. Robin Regan.

 

12 — Second fatal wreck of day in north Forsyth

 

May 29, 2015

 

Two fatalities were confirmed in two separate two-vehicle wrecks Friday in north Forsyth, authorities said.

A head-on collision between a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota pickup truck claimed the life of a woman on Keith Bridge Road (Hwy. 306) at Leland Drive, closing the road for about two hours late Friday morning.

Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles as Forsyth County emergency personnel had to cut at least one of them out with Jaws of Life equipment.

The deceased woman was driving the Hyundai and was pronounced dead on the scene. A male driver in the pickup was injured and taken to Atlanta Medical Center by medical helicopter in serious condition.

Later on Friday, a tractor trailer and passenger car collided on Matt Highway (Hwy. 369) and Dr. Bramblett Road, killing one occupant in the car and seriously injuring the other, said to Robin Regan, also a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

The fatality was pronounced at the scene. The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured.

 

11 — Wreck second of week involving teen fatality

 

Feb. 14, 2015

 

An 18-year-old was killed Friday night in a two-vehicle crash, the second fatal wreck involving a Forsyth County teenager in three days.

The collision occurred about 7:13 p.m. at Bannister and Concord roads, near the Silver City community and not far from the Dawson County line, authorities said.

Taylor Oliver of Cumming was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a serious head injury, said Robin Regan, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

Upon arriving, deputies found Oliver’s 2005 Ford F150 and a second pickup truck down an embankment. His vehicle had been traveling east on Bannister when it left the road to the right.

Oliver’s truck “slid broadside” into a Ford F350 hauling a 24-foot trailer that was carrying a front-end loader, Regan said.

The second truck, occupied by two people who were not injured in the crash, struck Oliver’s passenger side door before they both slid down the embankment.

The fatality was the second this week on Forsyth County roads.

A single-vehicle crash at Dr. Bramblett Road and Milford Trail in north Forsyth on Wednesday claimed the life of one West Forsyth High School student and injured another.

Caleb Ammons, 17, died after he was thrown from a southbound 1998 Honda Civic when it left the road in a curve and went down an embankment.