Four more people were arrested in connection with the wreck that killed a 16-year-old high school student, Channel 2 Action News has reported.
More arrests are pending, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2.
Deputies arrested three adults and one juvenile. Investigators have not released their names or said how they are connected to the case, Channel 2 said.
Authorities investigating the crash that killed Villa Rica High School sophomore Cheyenne Sauls are focusing on "where the alcohol came from," Douglas County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said.
"Here you have a bunch of teenagers who obviously had been drinking and they had to get the alcohol from somewhere," he told the Times-Georgian newspaper. "We are in the process of talking with anyone who was involved in the events of that night to see if we can't get an answer."
Copeland told Channel 2 that investigators are dealing with a range of charges related to how the teenage driver got alcohol and the handling of evidence in the case.
Deputies tracked down the 21-year-old passenger who fled the scene of the crash early Saturday and questioned him about events leading up to the wreck.
"We have located the person that left the scene and have questioned him," Copeland told the AJC. "There are no charges now, but possible charges later on."
Sauls was one of four passengers in a Chevy Blazer driven by Jason Lark, 17. They had been at a party in the Nations Corner subdivision Friday night.
Lark lost control of the Blazer on Pleasant Drive, and it flipped several times before slamming into a U-Haul truck. Lark is charged with DUI, first-degree vehicular homicide, two counts of serious injury by vehicle, under-aged person in possession of alcohol, driving too fast for conditions, reckless driving and no driver's license on his person.
Two other passengers were seriously injured. One of those, Jamie McManus, 16, was released from intensive care, her family told Channel 2 Action News. She underwent surgeries to repair her shoulder and hip.
"Doctors say she may be in the hospital the rest of the week and from there she'll probably go to rehab," her mother, Maria McManus, told Channel 2.
McManus' brother, Jesse McManus, said he hopes Lark "ends up in prison for the rest of his life."
Lark, who also was injured in the crash, was denied bond and remains in custody.
Sheriff Phil Miller told Channel 2 that Lark was arrested on a drug charge at Lithia Springs High School just days before the crash.
"He had a knife in his possession and he had some marijuana," Miller told Channel 2. "He was charged with that last week."
Trina Coss, whose 19-year-old son Taylor was one of the injured passengers, said authorities told her that her son was wearing his seat belt and had not been drinking.
Funeral services for Sauls will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Midway Macedonia Baptist Church.
-- Staff writers Kristi E. Swartz, Ty Tagami and David Markiewicz contributed to this report.
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