Man charged with vehicle homicide in death of state Rep. George Bandy

Feb. 07--A Columbus man has been charged with vehicle homicide in the death of state Rep. George Bandy who died on Jan. 16 at a hospital in Macon Georgia after the Jan. 5 crash on Andrews Road.

Michael Brooks, 60, was arrested on the charge Wednesday and taken to the Muscogee County Jail where he was released on bond.

Bandy of Opelika, Ala., represented parts of Lee and Russell counties. He died of internal injuries at Navicent Health, a level one trauma center in Macon, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. He was 72.

Police said Bandy was driving a 2003 Mazda Protege southwest on Andrews Road when a vehicle driven by Brooks traveling northeast pulled off of the roadway east of 23rd Avenue to attempt a U-turn in front of Bandy's Mazda around 8:38 p.m. The front bumper of Bandy's car struck the passenger's side of the Dodge 1500 Ram pickup.

The impact of the collision caused the pickup to overturn on the driver's side door. Bandy was left unconscious after the crash and was unable to talk to police.

Bandy was transported to Midtown Medical Center in Columbus after the crash but was later airlifted to the hospital in Macon, the coroner said.

Brooks was initially charged with traffic offenses after the crash. They included driving while license suspended, improper U-turn and having no proof of insurance, police said in a report.

Bandy was a public servant for almost 25 years in Alabama. Bandy was chair of the Alabama House of Representative's Lee County Legislation committee and served on the State Government and Transportation Utilities and Infrastructure committees.

Ben Wright: 706-571-8576, @bfwright87

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