Two Pataula Charter Academy students killed in separate Randolph County incidents

Cuthbert Police Chief admonished for slow wait time for emergency response

EDISON – The Pataula Charter Academy community is mourning the loss of two students who died in separate incidents in Randolph County just one day apart. 

Tyrae Campbell, a 16-year-old freshman football player at PCA, was fatally shot in Cuthbert Day Park on the night of Feb. 23. The GBI is investigating the incident and has since arrested and charged Kyle Gilbert, 19, with two counts of reckless conduct and one felony count of involuntary manslaughter in connection to Campbell’s death. 

Just one day later, on Monday evening, 11-year-old Nathan Milner, a fifth-grader and rising athlete at PCA, was killed alongside his maternal grandmother, Cathy Lee Oliver Milner, in a car crash at the intersection of Georgia Highway 1 and Georgia Highway 216.  

PCA staff, students and families gathered in front of the Edison school Wednesday evening to pray together, guided by pastors Brent Griffin from Redemption Church and Josh Duncan from Morgan Baptist Church. Friends and family hugged and held onto each other as they prayed over the student body, the victims’ families and the school’s faculty and staff. More than 100 people filled the school’s front lawn. 

“This crowd definitely speaks for itself on the impact that Tyrae and Nathan had on the community,” Brentley Griffin, a PCA student and Brent Griffin’s son, said. “I know we’re a small school, so when we lose someone precious and dear to us it affects everybody.”  

PCA is a small school of only 600 students but is no stranger to tragedy. One year ago, PCA sophomore Jacqueline Terwilliger passed away after an ATV accident. 

PCA Principal Christina Boyd usually doubles as the school’s guidance counselor, but during these tragedies, she said the entire community steps up to provide support. Two pastors, as well as counselors from other schools, volunteered to be on school grounds the week of the incidents. 

The school also hosted a fundraiser Thursday and Friday, encouraging students and staff to wear PCA gear in honor of the two school athletes. Proceeds will be given to Campbell’s and Milner’s families. Boyd said other area schools have joined in on the efforts. 

“It’s unimaginable and unheard of and our hearts are broken this week, but seeing everyone standing here together reassures me that I’m in the right place,” Boyd said. 

The investigation into Campbell’s death is still ongoing, the GBI said.

The Cuthbert Police Department was the first to respond to the shooting scene. 

Cuthbert Police Chief Tarris Bivins said it took 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene. He said this lengthy wait time for EMS services repeatedly happens. 

“The safety of everybody inside the city limits of Cuthbert – that’s my No. 1 job,” Bivins said. “That puts everybody’s safety and lives in danger when they can’t get the medical help that they need in a timely fashion.”

Asked if he thought a quicker response time would have made a difference in Campbell’s outcome, he said, “I can’t speak on the Lord’s will, but it definitely would have had a chance. You could say 50-50 at that point.”

Bivins said the issue of slow EMS response times first began after the Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center in Cuthbert closed in October 2020. Now, people in Randolph County in need of emergency medical help are transported to Eufaula Medical Center, which is a 30-minute drive away in Alabama, and Albany, which is a 55-minute drive. 

“It created a transportation nightmare logistically for patients to get to medical care,” Bivins said. “We just don’t have the best solution on the table right now.”

Almost $12 million in federal grant funding was secured to move closer to re-opening the hospital, which closed due to financial troubles, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are supposed to go to equipment and a remodel of the facility, which is in need of upgrades.

Bivins said it’s time for community leaders from across Randolph County to sit down and figure out a solution. 

“It’s time to fix the problem. It’s not time to point fingers. It’s not time to go back and forth,” he said. “How many more cases like this will we have before we can all sit down and get a resolution?”