A Rabun Gap man was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide following a fatal five-vehicle wreck Saturday in Rabun County.
22-year-old Tristan Bartlett is charged in the deaths of David Head, 46, and his wife Dawn Head, 50, of Scaly Mountain, North Carolina.
The accident happened around 4:25 p.m. on GA-15/US 441 at the intersection of old US 441 in Mountain City. The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) says Bartlett was driving a Jeep Commander south on GA-15 when he crossed the center line into northbound traffic. That set off a chain reaction wreck involving the Jeep and motorcycle, two pickup trucks and an SUV.
The Heads were pronounced dead at the scene. Rabun County Coroner Sam Beck says the State Medical Examiner’s office in Decatur will perform autopsies. Bartlett sustained minor injuries and was transported to Mountain Lakes Medical Center in Clayton.
Also involved in the crash were: a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado occupied by Michael Payne, 51, and Tyler Payne, 26, of Hampton, Tennessee; a 2011 KIA Sorento occupied by Jessica Robinson, 41, Jerry Robinson, 69, Linda Robinson, 65, and Jerry Parker, 6, of Clayton; and a 2016 Chevrolet pickup truck occupied by Breanna Almeida, 25, and Hanna Abercrombie, 31, of Franklin, North Carolina, and Blake Ashmon, 32, of Stone Mountain.
Almeida and Abercrombie had complaints of minor injuries, according to GSP.
In addition to vehicular homicide, Bartlett is charged with failure to exercise due care and failure to maintain lane. He was booked into the Rabun County jail.
The fatal accident shut down the highway near the crash site for more than four hours Saturday. The State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating.
