Georgia · Bartow County · Fatal

Joe Frank Harris Parkway Accident: Ratanza Winters-Gardner, 34, of Adairsville Killed; Driver Charged

Her Honda Accord was struck from behind near Horseshow Road just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, and she died at the scene. A South Carolina driver faces a first-degree vehicular homicide count and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What happened near Horseshow Road

Ratanza Winters-Gardner, 34, of Adairsville was killed just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, on Joe Frank Harris Parkway near Horseshow Road in Bartow County.

She was driving a Honda Accord. A Toyota 4Runner traveling southbound struck the rear of the Accord, according to WBHF Radio, which attributed its account to investigators. Both vehicles left the west shoulder of the roadway after the impact.

Winters-Gardner died at the scene. She is the only person who died in this accident.

The 4Runner's driver, Andrea Leigh Stegall, 30, of Greenville County, South Carolina, was later booked into the Bartow County Jail on three counts. She has not been convicted of anything, and the presumption of innocence applies to her in full.

Where the accident happened

Joe Frank Harris Parkway is the local name for the highway that runs north and south the length of Bartow County, parallel to I-75. The Daily Tribune News identified the same road by its state designation, SR 3, which carries US 41.

The accident happened on that road near Horseshow Road, near Adairsville — the northern end of the county, well north of Cartersville. No mile marker, exit number or distance from the Adairsville city limits has been released.

This drawing shows direction of travel and the reported sequence only. It is not evidence of speed, impairment or fault, and it is not a finding by any investigator.

Why this page says Horseshow Road

Horseshow Road is the spelling carried in the Georgia State Patrol account of this accident, and it is the spelling we use here.

It reads like a typo for a more familiar word, and that is exactly why we are flagging it rather than quietly changing it. When a road name in a police report differs by a letter from what a reader expects, the fix belongs to the agency that wrote the report, not to us. If the official report shows a different spelling, we will correct this page and note the correction.

When it happened

Just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. WBHF Radio and the Daily Tribune News both place it in that just after 12:30 a.m., and no outlet we reviewed gives a more precise minute.

Who was killed

The person killed was Ratanza Winters-Gardner, 34, of Adairsville, Georgia, the driver of the Honda Accord.

The Daily Tribune News reported that Bartow County Coroner Joel Guyton identified the people killed in that weekend's accidents. Identification is the coroner's function; the accident investigation belongs to Georgia State Patrol.

No agency or outlet we reviewed has released anything further about her — no family statement, no employer, no funeral arrangements. We are not going to source that from anywhere else, and we will not publish an obituary we cannot verify.

The two vehicles, and how the impact is described

Two vehicles were involved: a Honda Accord and a Toyota 4Runner. No model year and no color is given for either in the reports we reviewed.

The sequence, per WBHF Radio: the southbound 4Runner struck the rear of the Accord, and both vehicles left the west shoulder of the roadway after the impact.

What has not been released is as important as what has. There is no published speed figure for either vehicle, no statement about braking, no statement about whether the Accord was moving, slowing or stopped, and no reconstruction findings. A rear-end description is a description of geometry. It is not, by itself, a finding about why.

Who has been charged

Andrea Leigh Stegall, 30, of Greenville County, South Carolina, the driver of the Toyota 4Runner, was taken to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center with minor injuries and was then booked into the Bartow County Jail, WBHF Radio reported.

The counts against her, as reported:

• Homicide by vehicle in the first degree — a felony
• Driving under the influence of drugs
• Reckless driving

My K Country's roundup, bylined David Crowder, described the same charge set and called the top count a felony first-degree vehicular homicide charge.

Charged is not convicted

That is not a formality we tack on at the end. It is the actual legal status of every fact in the section above. The charge tells you what the state alleges. It does not tell you what happened.

What first-degree homicide by vehicle means in Georgia

Georgia's felony vehicular homicide count is set out at O.C.G.A. § 40-6-393. Under the 2020 Georgia Code as published by Justia, a person commits homicide by vehicle in the first degree by causing a death, without malice aforethought, through offenses that include DUI and reckless driving. The penalty on conviction is not less than three and not more than 15 years.

Two things follow from the way that statute is written. First, the first-degree count is built on another traffic offense — it does not stand alone. Second, "without malice aforethought" is the line that separates it from murder: the state is not alleging an intent to kill.

What the DUI-drugs and reckless driving counts are doing in the case

The DUI-drugs and reckless driving counts are the underlying offenses the first-degree count rests on. That is why all three appear together on the booking.

What no source states: what substance the DUI-drugs count refers to. No toxicology result has been made public, and no source we reviewed reports that testing is complete. We are not going to name or imply a substance.

What "additional charges remain possible" means

WBHF Radio reported that additional charges remain possible as the investigation continues.

That is a standard formulation while a reconstruction is unfinished, and it carries no information about what those charges might be or who they might name. No additional charge has been announced. We are reporting the phrase because the outlet used it, not because we know anything behind it.

Which agency investigated, and which one runs the jail

Two different bodies appear in this case, and they are routinely confused.

• Georgia State Patrol Post 3 responded to and is investigating the accident, with the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team assisting. Both are state units under the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
• The Bartow County Jail, where Stegall was booked, is run by the Bartow County Sheriff's Office — a county agency that did not investigate the accident.

The Bartow County coroner is a third, separate office, responsible for identification and the death certificate rather than for the accident investigation or the jail.

If you call the wrong one, you will not get a wrong answer. You will get no answer, several days late.

How to request the report while a criminal case is open

Because Georgia State Patrol worked this accident, the report is a Georgia Department of Public Safety record rather than a county record.

The department directs the public to an online portal called EPORTS. DPS says only crash reports, incident reports and citations or warnings can be requested through it, and publishes [email protected] for records requests. It is at eports.gamccd.net/orportal. The department lists its Open Records Unit at (404) 624-7591.

One practical caution specific to this case: records tied to an open criminal prosecution can be withheld while the case is pending. That is a normal outcome here, not a sign that something is being hidden, and it is a different situation from an accident with no charges attached.

The rest of that weekend in Bartow County

Two other people were killed on Bartow County roads in the surrounding 48 hours, in separate incidents with no reported connection to this one — one on Highway 20 the night before, one in Cartersville the night after.

What we don't know yet

This page will be updated as Georgia State Patrol, the courts and the named outlets release more. We do not fill gaps with inference, and we do not report an allegation as a finding.

If you were involved in or witnessed this accident

The report is a Georgia Department of Public Safety record — request it through EPORTS or the Open Records Unit at (404) 624-7591, and expect the open criminal case to slow it down.

Insurers usually do not wait for any of that. They often call within 24 to 48 hours, before a report exists to check any account against.

Frequently asked questions

Who was killed on Joe Frank Harris Parkway near Adairsville?
Ratanza Winters-Gardner, 34, of Adairsville. She was driving a Honda Accord that was struck from behind by a Toyota 4Runner, and she died at the scene, according to WBHF Radio.

When did the accident happen?
Just after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. WBHF Radio and the Daily Tribune News both place it in that just after 12:30 a.m..

Where exactly did it happen?
On Joe Frank Harris Parkway near Horseshow Road, near Adairsville in Bartow County. The Daily Tribune News gave the same location by its state designation, SR 3, which carries US 41.

Is the road really spelled Horseshow Road?
That is the spelling carried in the Georgia State Patrol account of this accident, and we keep it rather than silently normalize it to something that looks more familiar. If the official report later shows a different spelling, we will correct this page and note the correction.

What vehicles were involved?
Two. A Honda Accord driven by Ratanza Winters-Gardner, and a Toyota 4Runner traveling southbound. No model year or color is given for either vehicle in the reports we reviewed.

How do troopers describe the collision?
WBHF Radio reported that the southbound Toyota 4Runner struck the rear of the Honda Accord, and that both vehicles left the west shoulder of the roadway after the impact. No speed figure has been released.

Who has been charged?
Andrea Leigh Stegall, 30, of Greenville County, South Carolina, the driver of the Toyota 4Runner. She is charged with homicide by vehicle in the first degree, driving under the influence of drugs and reckless driving. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Has she been convicted of anything?
No. A charge is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. Nothing on this page should be read as a determination that Stegall committed any offense. That is decided in court, and this case has not been tried.

What does homicide by vehicle in the first degree mean in Georgia?
It is the felony count Georgia uses when a death is caused, without malice aforethought, through certain serious traffic offenses that include DUI and reckless driving. The offense is set out at O.C.G.A. 40-6-393. Under the 2020 Georgia Code published by Justia, the penalty on conviction is not less than three and not more than 15 years.

What do the DUI-drugs and reckless driving counts refer to?
They are the underlying traffic offenses the first-degree count is built on. No source we reviewed states what substance the DUI-drugs count refers to, and no toxicology result has been made public.

Where was the charged driver taken?
Stegall was taken to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center with minor injuries, according to troopers, and and was booked into the Bartow County Jail.

Could there be more charges?
WBHF Radio reported that additional charges remain possible as the investigation continues. No source says what those would be or against whom, and no additional charge has been announced.

Which agency is investigating?
Georgia State Patrol Post 3 responded, with the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team assisting. Post 3 and the reconstruction team are both state units. Neither is the Bartow County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail where Stegall was booked.

How do I get a copy of this accident report?
Because Georgia State Patrol worked the accident, the report is a Georgia Department of Public Safety record rather than a county record. The department points the public to its EPORTS online portal and lists 404-624-7591 for its Open Records Unit. Records tied to a pending criminal case can be withheld while that case is open.

What is still unknown about this accident?
What substance the DUI-drugs count refers to and what any toxicology testing showed, whether anyone else was in either vehicle, the speed of either vehicle, the court schedule in the criminal case, and the funeral arrangements for Ratanza Winters-Gardner.