AC repair inPembroke, GA

Nolan Driggers reached for the front door, kids in tow and his wife one step behind him.

The family of four was trying to leave their home in Ellabell and hit the interstate after hearing about a tornado that touched down in Pembroke. Driggers did not realize it was just a few seconds away from his neighborhood when he received the notification.

Moments later, his home was upside down.

“We were at home and I had been watching the weather,” said Driggers. “Everything was pretty calm at my house. Then they said a tornado hit Pembroke. When I opened the back door to leave, I saw the tornado touching the top of my neighbor’s house. As it came over ours, I tried to pull a mattress over us. Our house started flipping two or three times. The entire time my wife was praying. We didn’t think we were going to make it.”

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Once the storm passed, he called everyone’s name but there was one person that did not respond. In that moment, Driggers said he began praying that his child was not dead.

“I couldn’t find my 3-year old anywhere,” said Driggers. “I was trying to hold on to my two girls, but they slipped out of my hands. I found my 9-year old but I couldn’t find my 3-year old. There were a bunch of stuffed animals and blankets strewn around because of the tornado. Finally, I saw her feet and pulled her up. At first, she was not saying anything. I started shaking her and asking her if she was okay. Then she smiled and said, ‘I am okay.’ When I first saw her feet sticking up underneath all that stuff, I started screaming at the top of my lungs.”

In the midst of the chaos, Driggers did not realize he dislocated his shoulder. In addition, he suffered several cuts on his hip that led to a staph infection. “My leg got to where I couldn’t walk on it. I thought I could nurse it myself. Four or five days later, I was in the hospital.”

The family was given a camper to use temporarily, but with it being just 24-feet-wide, they knew it would not be a comfortable space to live in long-term. Driggers admitted he was frustrated with FEMA, saying he was under the impression they were going to provide assistance for those impacted by the tornado.

“It’s my fault,” said Driggers. “We did not have homeowner’s insurance. “We were waiting on FEMA to come in and then I found out that FEMA was not coming.”

But almost a month to the day of the tornado, Bryan County Sheriff Mark Crowe, Marty and Cindy Daniel of Daniel Defense, God’s Pit Crew and former NASCAR driver Jeb Burton provided the family with a new mobile home, complete with all new furniture.

“It’s incredible,” said Driggers. “I am so thankful for everyone’s support.”

Other families still struggling to find assistance

But one family has not been so fortunate.

Yvonne Whitfield, whose home was destroyed in the Homestead subdivision in Ellabell, is in a battle with her insurance company due to a clause she believes is being enforced in her new policy, which does not go into effect until June.

'It is complete devastation':One dead, 8 injured from tornado that hit Bryan County

“What they are telling us is they have a clause in my new policy that if the property is going to be repaired, they will pay for living expenses for a reasonable amount of time for us to live somewhere and they will pay for food and rent and things like that,” said Whitfield.

“But if our home is a total loss, they will only pay for the first seven days after they cut the check on the dwelling. Now that they are cutting the check on the dwelling, I am stuck dealing with all my additional living expenses, plus my mortgage payment that I have to continue to make.

Whitfield said her insurance company quoted just $42,000 in damages. Before the storm hit, Whitfield thought insurance would cover most or all of her expenses. In all, she has spent $10,000 and counting. “For a month now, we have been eating out and paying people."

Whitfield added she thinks other communities were put before hers when it came to the cleanup efforts. But she praised two groups that stepped up in a big way.

“I don’t think they did it on purpose, but I don’t think they realized how bad it was on our side,” said Whitfield. “But Pembroke Advanced Communications – they were amazing with their equipment and generosity and camaraderie. And Sam-Jay Landscaping was very helpful as well. Had it not been for them, we would not have gotten as far as we did.”

Video:Park Place resident talks about Bryan County tornado that devastated the neighborhood

For now, Whitfield is stuck paying for her camper and the mortgage from her home that was destroyed. She said it has been a painful process as she and her husband continue to shell out money to make sure they stay on top of their expenses.

“We pay insurance so you are protected,” said Whitfield. “But you are not protected. They are protecting themselves. My neighbor who has a different insurance company is getting a new roof put on their house. Their truck is being repaired. I haven’t gotten anywhere. We are already going through enough emotions and stress and trying to salvage things. There are things that are gone and you cannot replace them.”

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Nolan Driggers reached for the front door, kids in tow and his wife one step behind him.

The family of four was trying to leave their home in Ellabell and hit the interstate after hearing about a tornado that touched down in Pembroke. Driggers did not realize it was just a few seconds away from his neighborhood when he received the notification.

Moments later, his home was upside down.

“We were at home and I had been watching the weather,” said Driggers. “Everything was pretty calm at my house. Then they said a tornado hit Pembroke. When I opened the back door to leave, I saw the tornado touching the top of my neighbor’s house. As it came over ours, I tried to pull a mattress over us. Our house started flipping two or three times. The entire time my wife was praying. We didn’t think we were going to make it.”

Once the storm passed, he called everyone’s name but there was one person that did not respond. In that moment, Driggers said he began praying that his child was not dead.

“I couldn’t find my 3-year old anywhere,” said Driggers. “I was trying to hold on to my two girls, but they slipped out of my hands. I found my 9-year old but I couldn’t find my 3-year old. There were a bunch of stuffed animals and blankets strewn around because of the tornado. Finally, I saw her feet and pulled her up. At first, she was not saying anything. I started shaking her and asking her if she was okay. Then she smiled and said, ‘I am okay.’ When I first saw her feet sticking up underneath all that stuff, I started screaming at the top of my lungs.”

In the midst of the chaos, Driggers did not realize he dislocated his shoulder. In addition, he suffered several cuts on his hip that led to a staph infection. “My leg got to where I couldn’t walk on it. I thought I could nurse it myself. Four or five days later, I was in the hospital.”

The family was given a camper to use temporarily, but with it being just 24-feet-wide, they knew it would not be a comfortable space to live in long-term. Driggers admitted he was frustrated with FEMA, saying he was under the impression they were going to provide assistance for those impacted by the tornado.

“It’s my fault,” said Driggers. “We did not have homeowner’s insurance. “We were waiting on FEMA to come in and then I found out that FEMA was not coming.”

But almost a month to the day of the tornado, Bryan County Sheriff Mark Crowe, Marty and Cindy Daniel of Daniel Defense, God’s Pit Crew and former NASCAR driver Jeb Burton provided the family with a new mobile home, complete with all new furniture.

“It’s incredible,” said Driggers. “I am so thankful for everyone’s support.”

But one family has not been so fortunate.

Yvonne Whitfield, whose home was destroyed in the Homestead subdivision in Ellabell, is in a battle with her insurance company due to a clause she believes is being enforced in her new policy, which does not go into effect until June.

“What they are telling us is they have a clause in my new policy that if the property is going to be repaired, they will pay for living expenses for a reasonable amount of time for us to live somewhere and they will pay for food and rent and things like that,” said Whitfield.

“But if our home is a total loss, they will only pay for the first seven days after they cut the check on the dwelling. Now that they are cutting the check on the dwelling, I am stuck dealing with all my additional living expenses, plus my mortgage payment that I have to continue to make.

Whitfield said her insurance company quoted just $42,000 in damages. Before the storm hit, Whitfield thought insurance would cover most or all of her expenses. In all, she has spent $10,000 and counting. “For a month now, we have been eating out and paying people.”

Whitfield added she thinks other communities were put before hers when it came to the cleanup efforts. But she praised two groups that stepped up in a big way.

“I don’t think they did it on purpose, but I don’t think they realized how bad it was on our side,” said Whitfield. “But Pembroke Advanced Communications — they were amazing with their equipment and generosity and camaraderie. And Sam-Jay Landscaping was very helpful as well. Had it not been for them, we would not have gotten as far as we did.”

For now, Whitfield is stuck paying for her camper and the mortgage from her home that was destroyed. She said it has been a painful process as she and her husband continue to shell out money to make sure they stay on top of their expenses.

“We pay insurance so you are protected,” said Whitfield. “But you are not protected. They are protecting themselves. My neighbor who has a different insurance company is getting a new roof put on their house. Their truck is being repaired. I haven’t gotten anywhere. We are already going through enough emotions and stress and trying to salvage things. There are things that are gone and you cannot replace them.”

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SAVANNAH, GA: The former owner of a Bryan County pharmacy has agreed to settle claims that he and his pharmacy unlawfully dispensed controlled substances despite the presence of red flags indicating that the prescriptions, written by a convicted pill-mill doctor, were not issued for legitimate medical reasons.

Willie C. “Billy” Conley, Jr., 68, of Pembroke, Ga., the former owner of a Bryan County pharmacy and its former pharmacist-in-charge, will pay $275,000 to resolve allegations by the United States and the State of Georgia, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The civil settlement is the largest paid by an individual pharmacist for the alleged unlawful dispensation of controlled substances that has been obtained to date by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

“Pharmacists that ignore their obligation to scrutinize suspicious controlled substances prescriptions despite the presence of red flags can expect to be held to account,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Pill-mill doctors cannot thrive without pharmacists willing to fill their unlawful prescriptions. We will use every tool at our disposal to battle the opioid epidemic at each level of the supply chain.”

The allegations against Conley relate to prescriptions written by Dr. Frank Bynes Jr., who in February 2020 was convicted and sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment on numerous counts of health care fraud and unlawfully dispensing controlled substances. The settlement resolves allegations that Conley and his pharmacy violated their corresponding responsibility to fill only legitimate prescriptions and that they submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for a highly dangerous combination of controlled substances, called the “holy trinity,” consisting of overlapping opioid, benzodiazepine, and carisoprodol frequently prescribed by Dr. Bynes.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

“Filling medically unnecessary controlled substance prescriptions harms Georgia citizens and the Georgia Medicaid program and is wrong,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. “We will continue to work diligently to hold accountable those that harm our state and will use all available resources, including the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act, to remedy this harm and safeguard our communities.”

The case was investigated by the Savannah Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The State of Georgia was represented by Assistant Attorney General Sara Vann. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradford C. Patrick and Patrick J. Schwedler.

BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A new cleanup crew is making a pit stop in Pembroke to help tornado recovery efforts.

The team of volunteers better known as God’s Pit Crew drove tractor trailers from Virginia to assist with tree removal and debris pick up.

“We got a lot of horsepower and a lot of cool toys,” Chris Chiles, Immediate Disaster Response Coordinator, God’s Pit Crew said.

Volunteers with God’s Pit Crew say tractor trailers that are filled with 40 chainsaws, multiple wheelbarrows, and shovels are designed to help remove debris off of property overwhelmed with storm damage so that county officials can more easily continue the cleanup process.

“We have two excavators, two skid steers and an excavator, a 72-foot man lift, two F-450s, two F-3, three F-350′s, and two road tractors,” Chiles said.

Chris Chiles helps oversee disaster response across the country for the group.

He says he and his crew have experience in tornado cleanup but each situation has its own challenges.

“A tornado is just devastating. It doesn’t matter where it is or what part of the country. When a tornado hits, especially whoever it hits, seeing the families who lost everything, it’s tough to see. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it,” Chiles said.

Amid the devastation come new signs of progress.

The Red Cross says it will be ending their overnight shelter in the area as those affected get assistance.

“Most people have had other resources, other places to stay, family, hotel funds, insurance, whatever. So, we haven’t been as stressed focusing on that sheltering aspect which has been very fortunate,” Kelsey Vaneyl-Godin, Disaster Program Manager for Coastal Georgia, American Red Cross said.

Red Cross officials say they’ll focus on individual claims as more recovery funds become available.

“There are so many organizations just dying to help you. And that’s just been an amazing feat,” Vaneyl-Godin said.

But for Chiles and his crew he says helping people in need is what makes the hard work ahead worth it.

“It’s just hope. To see somebody that has no idea, I went and met with a family today. Their home’s destroyed. It has to be torn down. They didn’t know how they were going to clean all that up. They got 30 acres with trees down everywhere. Just the cost, what it would cost them to pay somebody to do that, and we do it for free,” Chiles said.

A community coming together for what officials say will be a year’s long rebuilding process.

Copyright 2022 WTOC. All rights reserved.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Emma Carroll was a woman of few words but those who met her were captivated by her warm smile.

A lifelong resident of Pembroke, she was well-known throughout the community. The town even has a street named after her family — Carroll Crossing Road. But on July 18, 2009, Emma disappeared without a trace.

Thirteen years later, the family is still in mourning and hopeful they will get answers sooner than later.

Emma Carroll was born Oct. 4, 1925. Her mother was from Soperton, but later moved to Pembroke. Emma was a jack of all trades — whether it be working in the fields or serving in the school lunchroom, she found a way to provide for her family. No task was too big for the mother of 11 children. Her daughter, Alethia Carroll, described her as a shy, reserved woman whose work-ethic was unmatched.

“It was a struggle for her, being poor and raising 11 children,” said Alethia. “But she was a very loyal person. There isn’t anything in the world she would not have done for her children.”

What Alethia remembers most about her mother was her unwavering faith in God. Emma served as the mother of the church, presiding over the communion service. Most of all, Alethia said Emma epitomized what it meant to be a mother.

“My mother was a Christian, born again and spirit filled,” said Alethia. “If I ever had a chance to choose my mother, I would never choose any other than the one I had. She was a good mom and because we were poor, she made a lot of sacrifices.”

Emma disappeared from Alethia’s house one summer day in July after Alethia had left the home for a couple hours.

“When I walked in the front door, the chair she normally sits in was empty,” said Alethia. “I went through the entire house, calling her name. We are in a very rural area. When I couldn’t find her, I called my sisters and brothers. I got in my truck and started riding around. It was about 15-20 minutes from the time we missed her until we called the Sheriff’s office.”

Emma was suffering from dementia and was 83-years-old at the time of her disappearance.

“Her mind was weak,” said Alethia. “We didn’t know what to expect. Some days she was OK. Some days she was not.”

Alethia has come to terms with the fact that her mother has probably passed by now. Still, knowing where she took her last breath would give her the solace she so desperately desires.

“It was somewhere in the afternoon that she left,” said Alethia. “Her mother used to live right down the road that we live on. I would think that whenever she left this house, I think she thought she was going to her mother’s house.”

Mark Crowe, sheriff for the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, remembers how her disappearance shook the community and how the severity of her illness may have played a role in her vanishing.

“Typically what we find with people with dementia is they don’t know where they are,” said Crowe. “They think that they know where they are going. I would hate to think that someone picked her up. I really think she found some path to get on and eventually realized she didn’t know how to get back. We want to know exactly what happened to her. If there’s a way to say we think this area didn’t get looked at or maybe go back over the entire pattern, they may be able to find a piece of clothing or something that would lead to her.”

Alethia praised the community for how quickly they responded to helping find her mother.

“The people all came together, and the neighborhood came together,” said Alethia. “We did a 9-day active search and nothing was ever found. Thirteen years later and we still don’t have answers.”

Alethia said law enforcement used every tool in their toolbox to find her mother, but they came up empty. “We did the best we could do to find her. We had the dogs, dirt bikes, horses, the sheriff’s department did a great job and the people from the TV station came up here. They even brought the helicopters up here that same night.”

Lt. Resa Deal worked the case and recalls combing through the area.

“It was hard for the family,” said Carroll. “For their mom to have walked away like she did was hard for the family. We tried for about three weeks. We had helicopters. We had everything.”

After her mother’s disappearance, dozens of people called in saying they saw Emma. But they turned out to be false leads.

“We got a lot of calls,” said Alethia. “There were people from Atlanta telling us they have a person up there and they don’t know who she is. Unfortunately, it was not my mother.”

Eight of Emma’s 11 children are still living. Though it has been painful to accept they will never see their mother again, they plan on celebrating her legacy and life in the near future.

“It’s extremely difficult,” said Alethia. “My family — they mostly just shut down. Coming up to the pandemic, we were going to celebrate her birthday every year and then the pandemic hit, and we were not able to do it. I don’t know if we will pick it up this year, but we will at some point.”

Emma beat poverty and raised 11 children with little-to-nothing. She found ways to persevere. Alethia watched her mom fight through adversity every day, so she refuses to give up on the woman who never gave up on her.

“I think about her every day,” said Alethia. “We love her, we miss her and we wish she was here. The case is not closed. As long as we don’t know what happened to her, the case is not closed.”

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.