Robert Miller

Name:
Miller, Robert Eugene

Date of Booking:
01/10/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
DUI – DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL

OPEN CONTAINER

HIT AND RUN RESULTING IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH

SERIOUS INJURY BY VEHICLE

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On the listed date at 20:39 hours, dispatch aired a call for a crash with injuries involving a pedestrian on Mustang Dr. While in route to the call, dispatch advised that the suspect driver was intoxicated. Dispatch later advised that the suspect vehicle was a Ram pickup truck and that the vehicle left the scene headed back into the neighborhood. Dispatch also advised that Life Star was on stand-by and that the victim was bleeding from the head and mouth.

I arrived at the crash scene at the same time Cpl. Hutto arrived. Upon my arrival at the crash scene, Effingham County EMS along with several people were surrounding the victim attending to his condition. Deputy Alston was out with Mr. Miller at the intersection of Mustang Drive and Quarterhorse Dr. Cpl. Hutto and myself went to assist Deputy Alston.

Mr. Miller was distraught and stated that he lived in the neighborhood, that he knew the victim, and that his truck was at this house. I detected the very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person as he stood next to me. His speech was slurred, his eyes were red and glassy, and he was unsteady on his feet.

When asked what happened, he explained that he turned into the neighborhood, was going 15 mph, passed the tree, looked down, dropped a cigarette in his truck, and hit. He advised that the victim was one foot off the curb in the street. His statements were delayed and contained a long pause between thoughts.

When asked how much he had to drink tonight, he stated, “too much.” He elaborated that he had 6 beers in Savannah. He also explained that he left Shellman’s Bluff to go to Savannah and that he went downtown to get drinks. He said that they stayed down there too long and had too much to drink.

Mr. Miller refused field sobriety and stated that he needed a lawyer. He was taken into custody for driving while under the influence of alcohol as a less safe driver and immediately read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice for suspects over the age of 21 from the green card by Cpl. Hutto. He refused state administered chemical testing of his blood.

Mr. Miller was searched incident to arrest and placed in the back seat of Cpl. Hutto’s patrol vehicle. Deputy Alston located the suspect vehicle at Mr. Miller’s residence and was advised to stand-by with it.

Cpl. Hutto gathered the victim’s information and statement. The victim advised that he was walking his dogs when he was struck by a car. The victim explained that he was walking in the direction of into the neighborhood and that after being struck he was knocked unconscious. The victim was wearing khaki in color shorts and a blue in color shirt. The victim was transported to Memorial University Medical Center by Effingham County EMS with a potential serious head injury.

I surveyed the scene and located a pool of blood on the West side of the roadway on the asphalt, curb, and grass area where the victim had been lying. A few feet Northwest of where the victim was lying was a silver in color Ram 1500 emblem. I marked the pool of blood and the emblem with orange in color marking paint. I searched the area but no other scene evidence was located.

I photographed the scene and measured the scene with a rolling wheel. Measurements taken are as follows:

Pool of blood to light pole at Quarterhorse Dr. – 75’10”
Pool of blood to Quarterhorse Dr. – 81’8″
Roadway with at scene – 24’6″

Mr. Miller was transported from the scene to his residence while I began photographing the gray in color Ram 1500 (GA-[REDACTED], registered owner Robert Miller). The Ram 1500 was located in the driveway of the residence. Damage to the Ram 1500 included a cracked passenger side headlight lens, a missing Ram 1500 hood emblem, a dent in the hood, and cracked paint.

Cracking in the paint occurred in the front passenger side area of the hood, headlight housing, and grill. The missing hood emblem was the emblem that was located in the grass at the crash scene. The hood also contained striated scuff marks. The damage was consistent with a ped strike, wrap, and angled roll/slide off.

Cpl. Hutto located Mr. Miller’s wallet with his driver’s license in the vehicle. Also located in the vehicle, was an open container with a liquid that had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage that smelled like beer. The odor of the beverage tested positive for alcohol with an Intoximeter FST PBT.

All of Mr. Miller’s property was placed in the vehicle except for his wallet and phone. The vehicle was impounded by Rahn’s Wrecker Service and a hold was placed on it pending a search warrant for a download of the event data recorder.

With the assistance of Sgt. Fondren, Magistrate Court Judge Lewis arrived on scene. I swore to a search warrant for the blood of Mr. Miller to be analyzed for the presence of drugs and alcohol for the purpose of an investigation of a DUI, serious injury by vehicle, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Mr. Miller was transported to the Effingham County Jail where the nurse on duty performed the blood draw at approximately 2315 hours. It must be noted that while Mr. Miller was in custody, he spontaneously uttered multiple times that he made a mistake, that he messed up, and that he would live up to the consequences of his mistake.

Mr. Miller was charged with DUI Less Safe Alcohol, Open Container, Serious Injury by Vehicle (F), and Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Injuries (F). His license was confiscated and he was issued a DDS 1205. He was also given a copy of the search warrant for his blood.

The blood alcohol toxicology kit was logged into the evidence refrigerator so that it could be transported to the GBI crime lab for testing.

[End of Narrative]