Walker County Probate Court offices closed due to damage caused in weekend crash

Contributed Photo by Joe Legge / Superior Court Chief Judge Kristina Coo Graham closed the offices after determining it was not safe for employees to be inside at this time.
Contributed Photo by Joe Legge / Superior Court Chief Judge Kristina Coo Graham closed the offices after determining it was not safe for employees to be inside at this time.

The Walker County (Georgia) Probate Court office has been ordered closed the rest of the week due to damage caused by a vehicle crash over the weekend.

According to Walker County spokesperson Joe Legge, the driver of a Chevy Trailblazer lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a decorative wall in front of the county courthouse before slamming into the bottom level of the building. The incident occurred at around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, Legge said.

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The county Probate Court offices are located on the bottom level of the Walker County Courthouse at 103 S. Duke St. in downtown LaFayette, Georgia.

Local building officials determined the building was "not safe for Probate Court personnel to remain inside at this time," according to Legge. As a result, Superior Court Chief Judge Kristina Coo Graham issued a judicial emergency to close Probate Court until Monday.

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photo Contributed Photo by Joe Legge / Walker County Probate Court offices are closed until Monday, Oct. 4, after a vehicle crashed into the building over the weekend.

Legge said the county has contacted its insurance company and is having an outside engineer come in to determine the extent of the damage to the building and the cost associated with any potential repairs. He said Graham will make a decision about whether the office closure needs to extend beyond Monday after the engineer's report has been made available.

"At the moment, we're still waiting on that engineer to come in and take a look at it so we can see what the next step is. We'll go from there," Legge said. "Until then, we're in a holding pattern."

An investigation into the events of the crash is ongoing and will be handled by the Lafayette Police Department.

Regular Probate Court business will be conducted virtually and by phone until offices reopen.

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Walker County Probate Court can be accessed online at walkercountyga.gov or by phone at 706-638-2852.

Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.

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