Driver injured in crash that killed horse in Loganville dies 3 months later

A 65-year-old woman who wrecked into a horse and its rider on a Georgia highway in Loganville three months ago died Tuesday, authorities said.

Susan Head, who was driving a Chevrolet when she crashed into the horse and its rider Aug. 1, had a heart attack at the scene and was rushed to the hospital, Loganville city spokesman Robbie Schwartz said at the time. A family friend who started a GoFundMe campaign to cover medical expenses wrote that Head had “many injuries and many broken bones” and was on life support after getting “surgery to relieve bleeding on the brain.”

Schwartz confirmed Head’s death to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. The Loganville Police Department will be consulting with the Walton County District Attorney’s Office about how that will impact charges against the horse rider, 26-year-old Fernande Fernando Esparza, who has an outstanding warrant for reckless conduct related to the wreck, Schwartz said.

Authorities believe Esparza left the state following his release from the hospital after the accident and his whereabouts are unknown at this time, Schwartz said.

On Aug. 1, Head was driving south on Ga. 81 near Meridian Park with her 6-year-old grandchild, Kelsie Brady, around 9:30 p.m. when she crashed into the horse, which was in the middle of her lane, Schwartz confirmed. The horse died at the scene and Esparza was thrown from the horse onto the grass near the road, a crash report obtained by the AJC shows.

After the collision, the car continued forward and eventually struck a tree, the report shows. Soon after, Head had a heart attack and was rushed to Piedmont Walton Hospital, Schwartz said. Brady was taken to a Children’s Hospital location with serious injuries.

About a week after the wreck, Schwartz said Head were in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital. He did not say if Head died at the hospital or if she was in intensive care until the time of her death.

A funeral for Head will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the chapel at Tim Stewart Funeral Home in Loganville, according to her obituary.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Esparza is asked to contact Loganville police at 770-466-8087 and ask for Sgt. Chapman.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.