Washington Co. teacher and his wife, a former cop, killed after motorbike hits deer

A Washington County High School teacher and his wife, a former Putnam County sheriff’s deputy, were killed Friday night after the motorcycle they were riding hit a deer, authorities said.

John Lamon, and his wife, Theresa, were near their home in rural Deepstep when the wreck happened about 8 p.m.

Mark W. Hodges, deputy Washington coroner, said that after the motorcycle struck the deer along Linton Road, a passing car accidentally hit the couple, killing them.

The couple had recently moved to Deepstep — between Sandersville and Milledgeville — from Putnam County, where John Lamon, 54, taught high school English and where Theresa Lamon, 53, had been a sheriff’s deputy.

“She was a really talented officer,” Putnam Sheriff Howard Sills said.

The couple had recently bought commercial property in Deepstep, and John Lamon took a job teaching at nearby Washington County High, Sills said.

“I think he was the Star Teacher when he was up here,” Sills said Saturday, several hours after notifying the couple’s relatives that the pair had died. “One of my deputies had a daughter who went on to major in English at UGA because of John’s influence.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Washington Co. teacher and his wife, a former cop, killed after motorbike hits deer."