A passenger was killed Friday morning when a car crashed along I-985 South in Hall County after the driver fell asleep, the Georgia State Patrol said.

About 7 a.m., a 2002 Nissan Xterra driven by Paul Stevens, 21, of Dahlonega, left the west side of the roadway near the Plainview Overpass and went down an embankment, GSP spokesman Anthony Coleman said.

The car went into a wooded area and hit a cement-block structure. It rotated and hit a tree with its right side, rotated again and came to rest facing north.

Stevens said he fell asleep while driving, Coleman said.

The crash killed 19-year-old Dylan Tuthill of Dahlonega, the GSP confirmed.

Stevens was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and failure to maintain lane, the GSP said.

In other news:

His parents spoke only to Channel 2 for the first time since his death.

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