Funeral procession for Coweta County battalion fire chief open to public

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - The public is invited to pay their respects to Coweta County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Bartholomew Cauthen on Tuesday ahead of his funeral.

What we know:

The procession begins at 1 p.m. at the Coweta County Fire Department headquarters. Here's a look at the route:

• Start at 483 Turkey Creek Road (Coweta Fire HQ)
• Take Turkey Creek Road to Greison Trail to Bullsboro Drive
• Take left into Downtown Newnan, passing Newnan High School, down to Unity Baptist Church on Smokey Road

Coweta battalion fire chief killed after stopping to help stranger in Alabama

The backstory:

Coweta County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Bartholomew Cauthen, 54, stopped on County Road 267 in Chambers County to help a driver who hit a deer.

BART CAUTHEN (Courtesy of Coweta County Fire Department)

While Cauthen was helping, investigators say a different man, identified as William Randall Franklin, opened fire on Cauthen and the other driver.

The situation escalated into a shootout, and officials say Cauthen, the unidentified driver, and Franklin were all injured.

Cauthen died before deputies were able to get to the scene. Franklin and the other driver were airlifted to LaGrange and Columbus trauma centers. 

Read the full story here.

What's next:

Cauthen's funeral begins at 2 p.m. at Unity Baptist Church located at 311 Smokey Road in Newnan.

Rather than flowers, the family is requesting memorial donations to White Oak First Baptist Church, 2078 GA Hwy 34, Newnan, GA 30265. They have also asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.