Alpharetta police on Thursday identified another victim of the series of weather-related crashes that killed four people in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett and Newton counties.
Margarita Belik, 44, of Alpharetta was killed about 8:45 a.m. when the silver 1999 Mercedes Benz she was driving apparently took the Haynes Bridge Road ramp onto southbound Ga. 400 too fast, ran off the rain-slicked roadway, slid down an embankment and hit a tree, police said.
Alpharetta police and fire units found Belik entrapped in her car. The sole occupant of the vehicle, she was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A preliminary investigation indicated that weather conditions and speed were contributing factors in the crash.
Belik was one of four people killed in separate weather-related accidents Thursday.
Earlier, Marietta police said Nathan Hitchcock was killed in a 1:40 a.m. crash on Burnt Hickory Road between Old Mountain Road and Devonwood Trail.
Hitchcock was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe and heading south at a high rate of speed when he improperly passed another vehicle, lost control of the Tahoe and struck a tree, according to Marietta police Officer Michael Gardner.
Hitchcock, 41, of Marietta, was alone in the vehicle. Burnt Hickory Road was closed for several hours, but had reopened by 4:30 a.m.
About 30 minutes after the Marietta wreck, Gwinnett County police reported a fatal crash on a ramp to I-85.
Gwinnett police Cpl. Edwin Ritter said a 2000 Honda Accord driven by Daniel Walker, 29, of Buford, was eastbound on the Buford Drive ramp to I-85 south shortly after 2 a.m. when "the driver failed to negotiate the curve and headed straight into a field, striking a tree."
Walker, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene, Ritter said, adding that investigators believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor.
In Newton County, Ga. 212 was also closed in both directions for several hours while authorities investigated a fatal predawn wreck and power company crews replaced utility poles damaged in the crash.
The Covington News identified the victim as 46-year-old Ray Whatley of Clemons, N.C.
Authorities said the man lost control of his Honda Civic on a curve, and the car left the road and struck the utility pole on the driver's side. Georgia state troopers said Whatley was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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