MT. AIRY - A pre-dawn wreck on U.S. Forest Service property over the weekend left a Cornelia man seriously injured and a Clayton woman potentially facing charges.
Trooper 1st Class Jesse Lewis of Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa said the single-vehicle wreck involved an overturned Jeep and was reported at 4:06 a.m. Saturday.
Lewis said a 1994 Jeep Wrangler driven by 28-year-old Joey Miller of Clayton was traveling west on Red Root Road near Mt. Airy. The vehicle swerved to the left, struck an embankment with its front end, and overturned onto its passenger side.
The front-seat passenger, 24-year-old Rodney Porterfield of Cornelia, was trapped underneath the Jeep, Lewis said. After being freed, Porterfield was airlifted from a nearby school to Atlanta Medical Center with a severe leg injury.
Miller was taken by ambulance to Habersham Medical Center for treatment of her injuries.
"She said she swerved to miss a deer," Lewis said of Miller.
The backseat passenger, 21-year-old Randall Ramey of Gainesville, complained of injuries and also was taken by ambulance to HMC.
"Nobody was restrained," Lewis said. "Drugs are suspected. Charges are pending at this time."
