A head-on collision Wednesday afternoon in Clayton claimed the lives of two Franklin, North Carolina, women.
81-year-old Judith Coolidge Hughes and 91-year-old Patricia Childers Safko died in the wreck around 3:14 p.m. on Highway 76 east of McWorter Lane.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Hughes was driving a Mercedes Benz westbound on GA 2/US 76 when she crossed the center line and struck an eastbound Ford Ranger. The pickup came to an uncontrolled rest facing south on the south shoulder of the highway. The Mercedes came to an uncontrolled rest in the eastbound lane.
Hughes and Safko were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash seriously injured the driver of the pickup, 71-year-old Dennis Mark Dalrymple of Clayton. Paramedics life-flighted Dalrymple to Greenville Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Troopers from Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the crash.
