Cops: Canton man fell asleep in Thanksgiving crash that killed man, daughter

Alivia Mynes, 18, and her father, 52-year-old Chris Mynes, were killed in a Cherokee County crash on Thanksgiving Day.

Credit: Family photo

Credit: Family photo

Alivia Mynes, 18, and her father, 52-year-old Chris Mynes, were killed in a Cherokee County crash on Thanksgiving Day.

A Cherokee County man is suspected of falling asleep while driving and was found to be at fault in a Thanksgiving Day crash that killed a father and his teenage daughter, officials said.

William Clark, 24, of Canton, was charged with two counts of second-degree vehicular homicide after an investigation into the fatal crash, Cherokee sheriff’s office spokeswoman Patty Pan said in a news release. Clark turned himself in Saturday and was released on bond the same day.

Clark’s charges, which include one count of crossing the center line, stem from a crash that took place on Thanksgiving Day and resulted in the deaths of Christopher Mynes, 52, and his daughter Alivia Mynes, 18, the sheriff’s office said. The other two members of the Mynes family, Chris’ wife and their younger daughter, suffered minor injuries.

Investigators believe Clark fell asleep at the wheel of his Ford F-150 pickup truck while driving on Knox Bridge Highway, Pan said. When he allegedly fell asleep, his truck crossed the center line and hit the Mynes family’s 2019 Nissan Armada. Chris and Alivia were pronounced dead at the scene, and Clark was taken to the hospital.

A toxicology report indicated that Clark was not impaired at the time of the crash, Pan said.

Alivia Mynes was an accomplished volleyball player who had graduated from Creekview High School and was in her freshman year playing volleyball for Bryan College, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Chris Mynes, an Ohio native, was the director of human resources at Fox Factory, according to his obituary. Chris and Alivia Mynes were laid to rest with a joint memorial service at Revolution Church in Canton on Dec. 3.

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