A Mt. Airy man faces DUI and first-degree vehicular homicide charges in a wreck Monday morning that killed his 5-year-old son.
35-year-old Gregory Brandon Thompson faces a slew of other charges connected to the wreck that killed Maximus Thompson.
Troopers say Gregory Thompson was driving a Toyota Prius south on Historic U.S. Highway 441/GA 385 around 9:38 a.m. when he crossed the centerline. The Prius hit a northbound Honda Accord head-on, seriously injuring the driver, 78-year-old Donald Wayne Preece of Clarkesville.
The wreck fatally injured Maximus Thompson, who was riding in the back seat behind his father. He died on his way to the hospital.
Habersham County Emergency Service crews, with help from Clarkesville firefighters, extricated Preece from his car. An ambulance transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
Gregory Thompson was transported to Habersham Medical Center in Demorest and later airlifted to the hospital in Gainesville, officials tell Now Habersham.
In addition to vehicular homicide and DUI, Troopers say Thompson will be charged with DUI child endangerment, serious injury, child restraint, due care, failure to maintain lane, and driving on the wrong side of the roadway.
Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa investigates the accident with assistance from the Troop B Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team.
This is the third motor vehicle accident in three days in Habersham County involving alleged DUI drivers, according to the State Patrol.
Late Saturday, an 8-year-old girl from Cleveland was critically injured in a two-vehicle crash on GA-365 and SR 384/Duncan Bridge Road. And on Sunday, a Demorest man died in a UTV accident outside his home.
“This has been a very difficult week for all emergency and law enforcement personnel in Habersham County,” says county emergency services director Chad Black. “Keep them in your prayers and the families of those injured and those who have lost loved ones this past week.”
This article has been updated
