Traffic-related accidents have claimed at least 11 lives on Georgia’s roads since the start of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety says state troopers in Grovetown, Cartersville, Calhoun (2), Blue Ridge, Thomaston, Perry, and Marietta have worked fatal crashes. The Clayton County, Atlanta, and Emerson police departments also each reported fatalities.
North Georgia fatality
The crash in Blue Ridge claimed the life of a motorcyclist and critically injured a passenger on the bike.
According to the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), the crash happened at 4:56 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, on GA 5 at Mountain View Drive in Gilmer County.
The GSP’s preliminary accident report states that a Nissan Frontier was traveling east on Mountain View Drive when “the driver failed to yield for a Honda VT100 motorcycle, which was traveling on GA 5.”
The front of the motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the Nissan in the intersection, and the driver and passenger of the motorcycle were both ejected. Paramedics flew them to Kennestone Hospital, where the driver was pronounced dead. The passenger is in critical condition, says Capt. Michael Burns of the State Patrol.
The Georgia State Patrol is withholding the names since, as of Monday morning, Burns said next of kin had not yet been notified. He says GSP’s Troop B Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash.
High visibility patrols
Troopers and other law enforcement officers are on high-visibility patrols, looking for impaired drivers and other traffic violations that could cause a crash.
Last year, 11 people died in Georgia traffic accidents during the long Memorial Day weekend.
The Memorial Day holiday travel period began at 6 p.m. Friday, May 24, and runs through 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 27.
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