A late-night crash Sunday on GA 365 near the Habersham/Stephens County line sent five people to the hospital. Among the injured were two young children, one of whom was airlifted as a precaution.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, around 11:30 p.m., a Toyota Camry rear-ended a Honda CRV that was stopped on or near the roadway in the area of Rock Road.
The Honda driver, 58-year-old Heather King of Toccoa, “stated she had issues with her steering and traveled to the shoulder,” says GSP Post 7 Commander Donnie Sadler. He adds that King was either “stopped in the right lane of GA 365 or yielded to GA 365 from the west shoulder and was in the right lane of GA 365 while returning to the roadway” when the crash occurred.
Troopers say 24-year-old Trista Wheeler of Lavonia was driving the Toyota in the same lane where the Honda was stopped and ran into it. After impact, the Honda came to an uncontrolled rest in the right lane of the highway, and the Toyota wound up on the shoulder of the road.
The wreck injured both drivers and their passengers. Sadler says all of them sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He identifies the injured Honda passenger as 83-year-old Averil King of Toccoa. The children injured in the Toyota are identified as Keymarion Howell, 2, and Jaquarius Abercrombie, 4. Sadler says paramedics airlifted Abercrombie to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville as a “preventive” measure.
Habersham EMS transported the other patients to NEGMC in Gainesville for treatment. There is no update on their conditions.
According to Sadler, charges are pending.
The wreck shut down the northbound lanes of GA 365 near the crash site for more than an hour.
This article has been updated to reflect that five people were injured in the wreck and updates the make and model of the sedan involved