GSP releases names of 4 injured in multi-vehicle wreck in Hollywood

Four people were rushed to the hospital following a three-vehicle wreck at the intersection of GA 15/US 441 and Talmadge Drive Sunday, May 21, 2023. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

The Georgia State Patrol has released the names of the four people injured in a three-vehicle wreck Sunday afternoon in Hollywood. Three of them were seriously injured. One patient was airlifted to the hospital.

According to the state patrol, Kenneth Ray Brook, 68, of Clarkesville, was driving a Dodge Ram 1500 north on GA 15/US Highway 441 at Talmadge Road. Troopers say he was following too closely and failed to yield as he came up on two vehicles stopped at the red light.

The pickup truck rear-ended a Kia Soul and then a Toyota Highlander.

The impact seriously injured the Kia driver, Annie Deloris Ellison, 78, of Gainesville, and a passenger in her vehicle, Judith Grace Waters, 81, of Lawrenceville.

A family from Cypress, Florida, was traveling in the Highlander. The wreck injured one of them, 79-year-old Eileen Mercer. The Highlander driver, Shannon Tharp, 53, and two other passengers, Douglas Tharp, 54, and Colby Tharp, 15, were uninjured.

Paramedics airlifted Brook, and Habersham EMS transported the other injured patients by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

AirLife paramedics load Kenneth Brook onto the helicopter for transport to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Several others were taken to the hospital by ambulance following the early afternoon wreck on Sunday, May 21, 2023. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)
The wreck temporarily snarled Sunday afternoon traffic on GA 15/US 441. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

The crash happened around 1:20 Sunday afternoon. Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa and GSP’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene.

The wreck shut down the road near the accident site for several hours while troopers investigated and for the AirLife chopper to land.

The state patrol says charges are pending against Brook.

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