Only 1 of 5 in fatal Brookhaven crash wore seat belt properly

Investigators say only one of five people involved in a fatal crash was wearing a seat belt properly when their car hit a tree in Brookhaven.

And that man, 21-year-old Fernando Mares of Forest Park, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials with the Georgia State Patrol said Monday.

The crash happened before 4 a.m. Sunday on Clairmont Road near Clairmont Way, after a combination of wet roads and high speeds.

Officials also said the driver, 19-year-old Diego Sanchez-Reyes may have been impaired by alcohol. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Abel Rodriguez, 18, of Forest Park, was seated in the back seat without a seat belt and Rogelio Alvarado-Resendez, 18, and Marissa Mata-Munoz, 19, were restrained with the same seat belt.

The four passengers were taken to area hospitals for treatment, GSP officials said Monday.

No information about condition of the four survivors was available Monday.

About the Author

Ellen Eldridge

Georgia Power, PSC staff strike deal for $16B expansion to power data centers

Georgia Power and the Public Service Commission’s staff unveiled a deal that would allow the utility to build huge amounts of new power plants, mostly to serve data centers.

1h ago

Warnock renews push for enhanced job training with bipartisan bill

Employers that come to Georgia “are having a hard time finding workers with the education they need,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said in a written statement.