Deputies, EMS treated and released, arrests made
Two Gilmer County deputies and five EMS personnel were hospitalized following exposure to suspected Fentanyl at the site of a vehicle crash.
“All seven exposed members have been treated and released from the hospital,” said Gilmer County Public Safety Director Keith Kucera.
The driver and the passenger of the vehicle have been charged in the incident.
Christopher Foster, 42, and Robin Marie Foster, 38, both of McCaysville, have been charged with aggravated assault and a violation of the Georgia Control Substances Act.
“We’ve done presumptive testing and it tested positive as Fentanyl,” said Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office Captain Frank Copeland about the exposure.
It began Thursday, May 19, at 6:46 p.m., when Gilmer County Fire Rescue units, two Gilmer County deputies and a Georgia State trooper were dispatched to the scene of a single vehicle accident just north of the Boardtown Road and Whitepath Road intersection.
Gilmer County’s personnel began assisting and treating the two occupants of the vehicle when they were exposed, Kucera said.
“We shut the road down until we could get the vehicle ‘cleared’ and processed by a HAZMAT team from Cherokee County Fire Department,” said Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson.
Several agencies responded to help, including Pickens County, Fannin County, Gordon County, Murray County, Floyd Medical and Redmon EMS.
The suspected Fentanyl powder was inside a handheld pill container.
Following the presumptive test, the powder suspected in the exposure was sent to the GBI crime lab for more testing.
“It doesn’t take much of that stuff,” Copeland said. “It’s super potent.”
He expects the deputies to return to duty this week.
Robin Marie Foster is being held in the Gilmer County jail without bond. She was arrested after being released from the local hospital.
Christopher Foster was transported to Erlanger in Tennessee. He is being held in Tennessee pending extradition.
The incident is still under investigation.
“I would like to thank the brave men and women of the Gilmer County Fire Rescue and Gilmer Sheriff’s Office for their selfless efforts every day to keep the citizens of Gilmer County safe,” said Kucera. “I would also like to thank the partners who responded to support our agency while our crews were being medically treated from an extremely dangerous situation.”