Crashes kill 11 on Georgia roads during holiday weekend, down from 2024
Crashes killed at least 11 people on Georgia roads over the long Thanksgiving weekend, according to the Department of Public Safety.
That’s a decline from 2024, when 17 died in crashes during the same 102-hour period. In 2023, 23 died in crashes, according to DPS and local law enforcement agencies.
The number of vehicle fatalities during this year’s holiday stretch is only preliminary and could increase if others involved in collisions do not survive their injuries.
Many families are grieving those killed, including a pregnant woman in Newton County.
Jaylah Donald was a passenger in a Hyundai that was hit by an alleged drunk driver Friday, according to the state patrol. Donald and her unborn baby died at the scene of the wreck. The driver of the Hyundai allegedly backed out of a private driveway improperly, investigators said.
“Jaylah was just beginning her journey into adulthood,” a GoFundMe fundraising page stated. “At 19, she was full of life, hope, dreams and excitement about welcoming her first child. She carried her baby with pride and joy, always smiling and glowing with love. To lose them both so suddenly is a heartbreak that no family should ever have to endure.”
Charges are pending against both drivers, according to the state patrol.
State troopers investigated 498 crashes that injured 236 people from Wednesday at 6 p.m. until Sunday at midnight, DPS reported. Troopers issued distracted driving citations for 680 people, and 422 others were charged with driving under the influence, the agency said.
A suspected DUI driver caused a deadly head-on crash on I-85 at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Gwinnett County police said.
Investigators believe a driver was traveling the wrong way on I-85 North and hit another vehicle, killing that driver. The alleged drunk driver was arrested at the scene and charged with DUI, homicide by vehicle and other traffic charges. The names of those involved in the crash were not released.
On Thanksgiving night, a motorcyclist was killed when he collided with a Ford Fusion on Metropolitan Parkway, Atlanta police said.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that the Ford Fusion was traveling northbound on Metropolitan Parkway SW when, as it stopped to make a left turn into a driveway, the motorcycle which was traveling southbound on Metropolitan Parkway SW, collided with the Ford Fusion,” police said.
A 35-year-old man, Michael C. Miller, died at the scene of the crash, which remains under investigation.
Also Thursday at 10:45 p.m., a man was killed in a crash on I-285 South before the Lawrenceville Highway exit, according to DeKalb County police.
“Preliminary investigation suggests he was involved in a collision prior to this crash and was in the left lane when a pickup rear-ended him,” police said in an emailed statement.
The name of the man killed was not released. The pickup driver reported a minor injury in the crash, which remains under investigation.
Outside of metro Atlanta, fatal crashes were reported in Dougherty, Lumpkin, Glynn, McIntosh, Stephens and Bibb counties, the state patrol said.
