Rincon man pleads guilty to 2016 hit-and-run that killed pedestrian at GA-SC border
A Georgia man has pleaded guilty to a 2016 hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian on a bridge near the South Carolina-Georgia border. Investigators used debris from the crash site to identify the driver.
Robert Gene Collum III, 33, of Rincon, received a suspended sentence of 18 months in prison followed by 3 years of probation. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for his conviction, according to Jasper County court records.
Circuit Court Judge Marvin H. Dukes III handed down the sentence March 19. If Collum violated his sentencing conditions, he would be required to serve his full sentence of 6 years.
For a fatal hit-and-run conviction, state law allows for a prison sentence between 1 and 25 years and a fine ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
The collision killed 33-year-old Ethan Pringle of Midway, Ga., who around 5:20 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2016, was walking on the side of U.S. 17 (Speedway Boulevard) toward Savannah.
Pringle died of his injuries later that day at Savannah’s Memorial Health University Medical Center. He was a lifelong resident of Liberty County and a senior at Armstrong University, according to his obituary.
‘Long debris field’ leads the way to an arrest
About an hour after the fatal collision, Troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol were called to the state’s southernmost portion of U.S. 17 (Speedway Boulevard). The collision site was steps away from the Georgia border on the Little Back River Bridge, a span of U.S. 17 slightly north of the Talmadge Bridge.
An investigator with the South Carolina Highway Patrol noted a “long debris field of car parts and clothing” leading to the spot where Pringle’s body was found.
The car parts found on the scene were a “perfect match” for Cullom’s 2015 Chevrolet Impala that investigators found at the Rincon Chevrolet dealership, according to a SCHP incident report. Cullom had told dealership staff the sedan had been hit by another car while it was parked overnight, the business manager said in a police interview.
With additional information from a Crime Stoppers tip, law enforcement obtained Collum’s arrest warrant Sept. 12, 2016, two days after the fatal hit-and-run. Collum turned himself in to the Jasper County jail that evening and was later released on bond with an ankle monitor.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
