The Georgia State Patrol has charged a Hartwell man with DUI following Saturday’s crash involving a church van on GA 365 in Demorest. The wreck injured multiple members of a local church youth group, including a 15-year-old boy who was airlifted to Egleston Hospital in Atlanta. At last report, he was on life support, says State Patrol spokesperson TFC2 Joshua Staff.
According to Staff, 64-year-old Barry Clark was found to be DUI following the wreck at the intersection of GA 365 South and Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway. Online records from the Haberham County Detention Center show Clark was arrested and also charged with failure to obey signs or control devices and serious injury by vehicle.
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The State Patrol’s preliminary crash investigation revealed Clark was driving a Toyota 4Runner east on Demorest-Mt. Airy Highway. State troopers say he ran the red light at the intersection and struck the southbound Ford Econoline van carrying a group from River Point Community Church.
The wreck injured five of the seven teenagers onboard the van, including the teen who was airlifted. Habersham EMS transported three others to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with serious injuries.
Clark was taken to the hospital with complaints of injury, and several other members of the youth group were taken by private vehicle to area hospitals.
The driver of the church van, Frank Ciresi, 29, of Mount Berry, and an adult passenger in the van were not injured.
Authorities are not releasing the injured teen’s names because they are juveniles.
Callers reported the collision to Habersham County E-911 around 1:39 p.m. on June 29. The crash shut down the southbound lanes of GA 365 near the intersection. The road remained closed for several hours as authorities investigated the crash.
Church members tell Now Habersham the group had been working on a mission project and was headed to the Chattahoochee River to go tubing when the accident occurred.
The Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) is assisting Post 7 in Toccoa with the crash investigation.
As of early Sunday, June 30, Clark remained in the Habersham County Detention Center.
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