Ex-Supreme Court Justice, Cobb County Judge Dies In Car Accident

ATLANTA, GA -- A former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court was killed Sunday afternoon in a car crash. P. Harris Hines, according to the court, died after an accident on I-85 north near downtown Atlanta. His wife, Helen Hines, was with her husband in the car and survived the crash.

“We are all shocked and devastated,” Chief Justice Harold D. Melton said. “Former Chief Justice P. Harris Hines was a giant of a man. Because of the love he so freely extended to others, he was loved and cherished by every member of this Court, by our staff, and by just about every person who ever met him. For me personally, he was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. My heart is broken. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved wife, Helen, their son and daughter, and their families.

Justice Hines, 75, had just retired at the end of August after more than 50 years of practicing law and serving as a judge in Cobb County and as a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia.

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