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Man at center of politically charged and deadly hit-and-run appears in court

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Updated  December 5, 2022 4:39pm EST
Polk County
FOX 5 Atlanta

3-year-old hit-and-run case finally heads to trial

A three-years-old deadly hit-and-run case in Cedartown is now heading to trial. Ryan Dover is charged with hitting a man on a bicycle and failing to call 911.

POLK COUNTY, Ga. - For the first time in over three years, the man at the center of a politically charged and deadly hit-and-run accident in September 2019, was seen at the Polk County Courthouse.

 Ryan Dover, was in court to finally find out the status of the felony against him. 

 In November 2020, the I-Team examined the case of Eric Keais, who was hit by a car while riding his bike in Cedartown. 

 The driver of the car was Ryan Dover. He left the scene of the accident, according to a police report. Dover told police he "Might have hit a deer, but he wasn't sure.  

 Eric Keais brother didn't believe the story 

"Alive, unconscious and bleeding internally. Needing help from us and nobody was there," Aaron Keais told me. 

 Dover didn't call 911. He called a friend, powerful state Rep. Trey Kelley.

 Representative Kelly didn't call 911. Instead, he told police he and Dover searched the scene and found a "bicycle in a ditch" but no body.

 He still didn't call 911. He called the Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome, at his home.

"You don't just go and look. You dial 911 first. None of them did that," Aaron Keais said.  

In a police report, Chief Newsome said he got the call 46 minutes after the accident. He too, didn't call 911. He sent an officer to check the scene.  Eric Keais was found. Still alive. He later died at the hospital 

 A Polk County grand jury later indicted Ryan Dover on hit-and-run and reckless conduct and Trey Kelley on one misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct. 

 A judge later threw out the charge against Rep. Kelley, ruling since he wasn't the driver, he didn't have the obligation to call 911. 

 "There is a psychological evaluation that has been ordered. It has been started. It should be finished in the next couple of weeks," Dover's attorney Brian McWhorter said in court. 

 McWhorter and prosecutor Jack Browning agreed that they both need to see the results of psychiatric evaluation of Ryan Dover. 

 "I think the psychological is necessary for a lot of reasons and that could impact a lot of our discussions," McWhorter told the judge.

 The hearing was over in less than ten minutes, but an important step was taken. A trial date of early March next years has been set. The three-year-old hit-and-run case is now on track to be resolved.