Of the 26 traffic fatalities the Georgia State Patrol reported over the Fourth of July holiday, seven were from a wrong-way crash in Franklin County. (photo courtesy CNN)
It was a deadly holiday weekend on Georgia’s roads. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, July 7, the state patrol reported 24 people were killed in traffic-related accidents. Seven of those deaths occurred in a five-vehicle accident on Interstate 85 in Franklin County.
The Georgia State Patrol says a Ford Excursion SUV traveling north crossed the median and crashed into a southbound Chevrolet van around 1:40 p.m. Saturday. That set off a chain reaction accident in the southbound lanes. The van struck a Ford E350 van and two other vehicles received minor damage from debris.
Three people in the Ford Excursion died, according to WSB-TV. Authorities identified them on Sunday as 33-year-old Chris Years, 34-year-old Ashley Years, and 3-year-old Luna Years, all of Paulding County. Three more people in the Excursion were taken to the hospital. One of them is in critical condition.
All four people in the Chevrolet van were killed. They’ve been identified as 53-year-old Alejandro Agis Perez, 39-year-old Noe Gutierrez Cerna, 25-year-old Oswaldo F. Hi Navarrete, and 36-year-old Eugenio Santoyo Serna, all of Hall County.
The Georgia State Patrol’s collision reconstruction team is investigating the accident.
Last year, the July Fourth holiday travel period was only 30 hours long. During that time, five people died on Georgia’s roads. This year’s holiday travel period was 102-hours long. It ended at midnight on Sunday.
