Two deadly crashes in Cobb County over the weekend resulted in the deaths of a high school athlete and a 91-year-old Marietta man.
Cobb police investigated the first crash about 4:25 p.m. Saturday. According to investigators, a gray Nissan Altima was making a left turn from Alabama Road to Old Mountain Park Road when it was hit by a black Suzuki motorcycle.
The motorcyclist, identified by police as 18-year-old Cameron S. Clason, was thrown from his bike and taken to Wellstar North Fulton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Nissan did not need medical attention at the scene, police said.
Clason was a senior at River Ridge High School in Woodstock and a member of the varsity wrestling team. On Monday, his friends decorated his parking space to honor him, according to Cherokee County School District spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby. The space will remain unfilled for the rest of the year.
“His passing has broken the hearts of his classmates, who shared what a good friend he was to them and how much he loved to laugh and make them laugh,” Jacoby said in a statement.
River Ridge students are also planning other tributes to Clason, including a balloon release at sunset Friday.
On Sunday, 91-year-old John A. Spadafora died after he was injured in a crash on Sandy Plains Road. He was turning left onto Davis Road when his black Mazda truck collided with an oncoming gray Infiniti coupe, according to investigators.
The two crashed just after 5:30 p.m. outside the entrance to Mountain View Elementary School. Spadafora was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries, police spokesman Sgt. Wayne Delk said.
“His condition worsened and he was pronounced deceased later in the evening at the hospital,” Delk said Monday in a news release.
The driver of the Infiniti was also taken to Kennestone with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
The two incidents mark the third and fourth deadly crashes investigated in Cobb since Friday. The first came Friday afternoon, when retired Atlanta Municipal Court judge Elaine Carlisle was killed after she lost control on the ramp from I-285 to I-75 South, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
RELATED: Retired Atlanta judge dies after car wreck on I-75 in Cobb, officials say
Hours later, another driver turning left was hit and killed at the intersection of Johnson Ferry and Powers roads. The victim, identified by police as 61-year-old Rob Higginbotham, was a local businessman and grandfather.
MORE: Grandfather killed, 2 others injured in crash on busy east Cobb road
The weekend crashes remain under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 770-499-3987.
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