The alleged at-fault driver of a five-vehicle wreck Friday in Jackson County that killed a 15-year-old girl remained on the loose Monday afternoon.
The wreck happened on I-85 in the Commerce area around 9 p.m. when a brown Ford Expedition went out of its lane, whereupon it side-swiped a tractor trailer, hit a guard rail and overturned, said Sgt. 1st Class Tim Meyer with the Georgia State Patrol post in Athens.
The 15-year-old girl, identified as Nidia Hernandez-Burgos, was ejected and killed, while a second passenger was seriously injured.
Two other cars were said to be involved, but no other injuries were reported, according to Meyer.
The driver, who was acquainted with Hernandez-Burgos, called another car to come and pick him up from the scene before law enforcement arrived.
"We believe he was traveling with at least one other vehicle, which is unidentified, and then one of the wrecked vehicles ... was also traveling with them," said Meyer.
Troopers have identified the suspect in the case — though the information has not been released publicly, and Meyer said they are trying to get the man to turn himself in.
"There's a relation between the suspect and the 15-year-old ... He's known to the family of the deceased girl. Some reports indicate that he fathered (Hernandez-Burgos's) child," said Meyer.
Crash investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the snow showers moving through the area at the time of the wreck played a role, but Meyer said the initial report indicated that I-85 was wet — not icy — at the time the crash happened.
