Father Watches His 16-Year-Old Girl Die, Gets Arrested After Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

Shannon Hamilton, the father of Cecily Mcree Hamilton, who died in a car accident at 16, was arrested for trying to build a higher guardrail on the side of a bridge where his daughter lost her life. Cecily died when the car she was traveling in with her boyfriend drove over the edge of the bridge in Gainesville, Georgia.

Local officials had agreed that the accident might not have happened if there had been a guardrail on the bridge, but plans to build the bar were still awaiting approval, which Hamilton believed was too slow. He was worried that another car might fall into the river, and it was then that he took it upon himself to get something done.

He brought his own excavator to the bridge to help build the guardrail. According to reports, he was planning to build a berm to provide a temporary solution until the local officials could figure out a permanent solution. The White County deputies tried to convince him to stop, and when Hamilton continued to work on the berm, he was arrested for interference with government property.

Hamilton was released on bail, and he received support from the local community. He started speaking at Cecily’s high school about safe driving as a way to cope with what he went through.