News 12 at 6 o'clock, July 17, 2008

COLUMBIA CTY, Ga.---A kindergarten teacher might be alive tonight, if a driver had just seen her sooner. Christian Daniel Giles was walking her dogs with her husband near their home in Evans when an SUV slammed into her. Now a teacher is dead, her classroom empty, and her friends and family are left grieving.

The accident happened last night on Mulikin Road near the intersection of Hunter's Cove. It's a residential area along a winding road and now neighbors hope something can be done about how fast people drive through it.

Vicki Pennington lives very close to Mulikin Road, where Christian Giles lost her life. She's seen drivers fly down the small, windy road for years. "You hardly ever see anybody doing the speed limit," says Pennington.

Speed could be a factor in this crash. It was around 10:30 Wednesday night when the twenty four-year-old teacher and her husband were walking their dogs. The car hit Christian from behind and threw her about seventy feet.

The speed limit along the road is thirty miles per hour. Neighbors say speeding is a big problem. Along with that, there are no lights and at night things can be pretty dark. "I have a two year old and he wants to go walking on the bridge all the time on the sidewalk and I won't let him when it's dark because there are no lights," says Pennington of her two year old son Adam.

Christian's coworkers at John Milledge Elementary School said she was a wonderful teacher who cared greatly for her students. Her wedding announcement, almost a year old, still hangs on a bulletin board at the school's entrance. While most neighbors believe it was the speeding, investigators say, give them some time to check it out. "The case remains under investigation so we don't want to jump to conclusions that speed is automatically a factor here," says Captain Steve Morris, Columbia Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

Whatever the cause, this teacher's young students are having to learn a very adult lesson.

Now again, the accident is still under investigation. A blood alcohol test was sent to the lab and they expect that back in six to eight weeks. Charges are currently pending on the driver, twenty-four year old Brandon Wise.

The Sheriff's Office did say they would be increasing the patrol in that area, and are considering setting up a speed tracking box.

If residents observe speeders, they are encouraged to note the tag number and report them to the Sheriff's Office.