A veteran of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division was laid to rest Tuesday in his hometown of Toccoa after he was killed while on duty in an accident the week prior.
Capt. Stan Elrod, who supervised the DNR’s Region 2 office in Gainesville, was hit by a car while training in Madison County, agency spokesman Mark McKinnon said Friday. He was dead when troopers responded to the crash on Hunt Road around 7:40 p.m., according to Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Stephanie Stallings. Elrod, 49, of Danielsville, had been with the DNR for 28 years.
His funeral took place at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center overlooking Lake Louise in Toccoa, and he was buried in the Stephens County Memorial Gardens. Elrod is survived by his wife Julie, sons Levi and Luke, sister Stefanie Kaup and his parents, Julian and Linda Elrod.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a maroon Chevrolet Cobalt was traveling north when the driver failed to maintain his lane and hit Elrod on the southbound shoulder.
The driver, identified as 31-year-old Arvil E. Hamons of Danielsville, was arrested on the scene on charges of first-degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of drugs, and several other counts related to drug and driving offenses, according to officials. He was taken to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries before he was transferred to the Madison County Jail. Hamons is being held there without bond, online jail records show.
Elrod is the first DNR officer to die in the line of duty in more than 20 years, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks deaths nationwide. The last DNR officer killed was Cpl. Rocky Daren Wainwright, who died in a motorcycle crash in 1999. Elrod is the ninth Georgia DNR officer ever killed in the line of duty.
“He will be remembered for his selfless service and complete devotion to the safety of his fellow officers, fellow Georgians, and his state’s natural resources,” McKinnon said.
In a statement posted to multiple social media platforms, Gov. Brian Kemp expressed his condolences to the DNR and Elrod’s family. Kemp attended the funeral on Tuesday.
“Yesterday we lost a great man,” Kemp said on Facebook. “Capt. Stan Elrod was a proud husband, father and public servant who worked tirelessly to positively impact people’s lives.”
In his obituary, Elrod was described as an active member of his church and a sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He also coached youth baseball and was a cyclist who participated in the Police Unity Tour. He was awarded Ranger of the Year in 1999 and provided security for multiple historic events in the state, including the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and the G8 Summit, according to his obituary.
Elrod was a board member of the Outdoor Dream Foundation. In lieu of flowers, his family requested donations be made to the foundation at www.outdoordream.org.
With Elrod’s death, a total of five Georgia officers have been killed in the line of duty this year. Vehicle crashes caused all five deaths.
In 2019, Georgia lost seven officers and two K-9 officers in the line of duty.
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