Bicyclist dies in hit-and-run

July 1, 2009

Patti Dozier The Times Enterprise Wed Jul 01, 2009, 10:50 PM EDT

THOMASVILLE — When a Grady County man did not return home Tuesday night, his wife became concerned and called authorities.

Martin Langmaid left his home in the 2000 block of Hadley Ferry Road about 5 p.m. for a two-hour bicyle ride. When he did not return, his wife called the Grady County Sheriff’s Office between 9:30 and 10 p.m.

“She said she could set her clock by him,” Lt. Steve Clark, sheriff’s office chief investigator, said Wednesday. Langmaid, who was employed by a Grady County nursery, was long overdue and did not ride at night.

Friends who ride with Langmaid could not find him. He did not answer his cell phone.

Deputies and volunteer firefighters began a search.

About 11 p.m., a deputy found a helmet. Nearby, Langmaid’s body lay in a ditch about three miles from his home.

Langmaid’s body was found about one and a half miles south of where a Ford Ranger pickup truck wrecked at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lower Hawthorne Trail and Ga. 111 South, four miles south of Cairo.

The driver in the one-vehicle wreck was Chaz Gomez, 22, Baggett Mill Road, Cairo.

“The driver was intoxicated. He was arrested and charged with DUI,” Clark explained. Gomez’ blood-alcohol content will be determined by state crime lab testing.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to assist in the death probe.

During a nightlong investigation, officers found evidence on the truck they believe links Gomez to the ‘cyclist.

Authorities were in the process of charging Gomez with vehicular homicide Wednesday morning.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 220.