The visitation for a Henry County police officer killed in a hit-and-run accident will be held Thursday afternoon. Officer Elgin Daniel, 53, was killed on Monday night after he was struck while assisting a stranded motorist.
Daniel was a veteran law enforcement officer. He worked for DeKalb County for 26 years, retired as a lieutenant and came to Henry County to continue his service in law enforcement. He was with Henry County for two years when he was killed.
Daniel is survived by two sons, a daughter and a wife.
The family thanked the community before the visitation on Thursday.
"He was a good man. He meant a lot to a lot of people and he touched a lot of lives. We found that out. So many people have come forward with so many small things that he had done and just to see the amount of difference and change in how many people he's touched has been really overwhelming," said Jairus Daniel, the officer's son.
Colleagues of Daniel said that the funeral will be difficult.
"To lose anybody is horrible, whether it's from another department, whether it's from our department, but to lose a guy that you worked with every day, day in and out -- that makes it a little worse," said Sgt. Danny Gibbs of the Henry County Police Department.
Daniel will be the ninth colleague that Gibbs has to bury.
Daniel's colleagues say he always wore a smile, was a wealth of knowledge and a true asset to the department.
"He was in DeKalb County for 27 years and he knew George law as well as anyone, probably better than most around here," said Officer John Gleason of the Henry County Police Department.
"He had the kindest soul. No matter how bad you were feeling or how bad of a day you were having, he always had a smile; he always had the calmest tone in his voice. He just put light to everything," said Officer Donnell Whitt.
The suspect in the hit-and-run accident, Ruben Marin-Garibay, is being held without bond at the Henry County Jail. Marin-Garibay is charged with vehicular homicide, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane and hit-and-run, according to police.
He has a court appearance scheduled for December 11 at 8:30 a.m.
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Henry County Police Officer Elgin Daniel (Photo: Henry County Police Department)
