One person was killed and four people were injured in a head-on collision Friday evening in Rabun County.
According to a report released Saturday morning by the Georgia State Patrol, 49-year-old Curt Lamar Talley of Tiger suffered fatal injuries in the wreck around 6:33 p.m. on December 9 on GA 15/US 441 at North Johnson Avenue.
Talley was a passenger in a Ford Focus driven by Gregory Scott Chamblee, 40, of Clayton. According to state troopers, Chamblee was driving north and moved into the left southbound lane while attempting to pass.
“The blue Ford Focus was traveling north in the left southbound lane, and the front of the blue Ford Focus struck the gray Ford Explorer head-on,” says Georgia State Patrol Post 7 Commander Donnie Sadler.
Four Rabun County residents were traveling in the Ford Explorer.
After impact, the Focus rotated counterclockwise and came to rest in the left southbound lane facing west. The Explorer traveled off the west shoulder of GA 15, and the front struck a pedestrian crosswalk sign.
Talley was transported to Habersham County Medical Center in Demorest, where he succumbed to his injuries, Sadler says.
Chamblee sustained chest, head, and foot injuries and was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
The Explorer driver, 34-year-old Jessica Abel of Lakemont, was not reported as being injured in the wreck, but three passengers in her vehicle were.
25-year-old Caleb Andrew Watson of Rabun Gap complained of head and hand injuries but was not transported to the hospital. 11-year-old Audrey Abel of Lakemont complained of neck and back pain, and 15-year-old Riley Abel suffered colon and hip injuries.
The highway was blocked at the crash site for several hours. The Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash.
__________
The Georgia State Patrol initially incorrectly reported that the deceased driver’s name was Kirk Talley; it is Curt Lamar Talley. This article has been updated with that correction.
