A woman was killed Monday when the car she was driving was hit by another driver who was trying to avoid hitting a third car, Atlanta police said.

William Vickers, 50, was driving a 1996 GMC Suburban eastbound on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard "when he noticed he was about to strike the rear of the vehicle directly in front of him," Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said.

"Mr. Vickers applied his brakes hard and his vehicle swerved to the left into oncoming traffic," Jones said.

She said the Suburban struck a westbound 1994 Honda Accord driven by Sharon Thomas.

Thomas, 46, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she later died.

Jones said Vickers was charged with failure to maintain lane and homicide by vehicle.

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Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC