At least 20 people died on Georgia’s roads over the long Labor Day holiday weekend. Five people lost their lives Monday morning in a wreck on Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County.
The wreck happened shortly before 4 a.m. on I-85 South at the GA-316 exit ramp. Gwinnett police say three vehicles were involved one went over the exit ramp wall and crashed onto the road below. All five people in that vehicle died. Three of them were students at Lakeside High School in Dekalb County.
Gwinnett County Police identified the deceased as Katy Gaitan, 17, of Atlanta; Ashley Gaitan, 16, of Atlanta; Coral Lorenzo, 17, of Atlanta; Hung Nguyen, 18, of Lawrenceville; and Abner Santana, 19, of Suwanee.
In addition to the five who died, three others were hospitalized.
Monday’s crash brought to six the number of people killed in accidents in Gwinnett County over the Labor Day holiday.
Northeast Georgia traffic fatalities
In Northeast Georgia, three people died in traffic accidents over the long holiday weekend.
A motorcycle crash on September 2 in Union County claimed the life of 53-year-old Jon McGill of Blairsville.
According to the state patrol’s preliminary accident report, McGill was driving a Harley Davidson north on Jones Creek Road near Elisha Payne Road when he ran off the road in a curve. The motorcycle traveled down an embankment and struck a road sign. McGill was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fatal crashes also occurred in Jackson and Stephens counties.
Around 12:41 a.m. on Monday, September 4, a trooper from Post 32 in Athens responded to a fatal crash on SR 11/US 129 in Jackson County. The preliminary investigation revealed a Honda Accord was traveling north in the southbound lane of SR 11 near Hog Mountain Road while negotiating a curve. The Honda struck a Mazda CX-6 in the southbound lane.
Troopers say the Honda driver was unrestrained and died at the scene. They identified him as 37-year-old Richard Palmer of Monroe. The Mazda driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment.
At the start of the weekend, on Friday, September 1, a 33-year-old Toccoa man was killed in a two-vehicle crash on GA 106/Mize Road south of Toccoa.
The state patrol says Lacitrus Gholston was driving a Dodge Charger northbound on Highway 106 when he crossed the centerline and collided with a Ford SuperDuty pickup truck. Four people in the truck were injured. Gholston died at the scene.
Other accidents reported
The Georgia Department of Public Safety reports there were also fatal traffic accidents in Warren County, Dekalb (4), Atlanta (2), Milledgeville, South Fulton, Cumming, and Lumpkin County.
The holiday travel period began at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 1, and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 4.
Last year, 15 people died on Georgia’s roads during Labor Day weekend.
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