Charges are pending against a driver who troopers say caused a crash that critically injured a young woman in Habersham County on Saturday, June 26.
24-year-old Amber Roth of Knoxville, Tennessee, had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital trauma unit after a pickup truck’s tailgate flew into her car’s windshield. It happened after two vehicles collided on the highway in front of her.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Roth was in a Nissan Sentra stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of Antioch Church Road and U.S. 441/GA 15 shortly before 1 p.m. on June 26. At the same time, Shelby Long, 78, of Toccoa, was driving west on Antioch in a GMC Canyon. Troopers say Long attempted to cross both southbound lanes of the highway and pulled into the path of a Nissan Altima.
According to the crash report, the Altima struck the right rear of the pickup. The impact dislodged the Canyon’s tailgate, sending it airborne and into the passenger cabin of Roth’s car. The Sentra then rolled backward, striking a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
Long told troopers she did not see the Altima. Terry said the Canyon pickup truck entered her lane of travel and she “had no time to react,” the crash report states.
AirLife transported Roth to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Habersham EMS transported Long to the hospital by ambulance.
The wreck also injured the driver of the Altima, Olivia Terry, 19, of Rabun Gap, and a passenger. The driver of the Tacoma, 46-year-old Richard Erwin of Clarkesville, was not injured.
The accident temporarily shut down all lanes of U.S. Highway 441/GA 15 near the scene of the accident.
