DAWSON CO. - The Georgia State Patrol says five people, three of them children, were taken to the hospital following a head-on crash on Highway 53 East between War Hill Park and the Forsyth County line Wednesday morning.
The accident happened just before 7:00 a.m. when a 2010 Kia Forte being driven westbound on Hwy. 53 by Fredina Marie Elrod, 62, of Gainesville crossed the centerline in a curve. The reporting trooper said Elrod's vehicle hit a 2009 Ford pickup truck. The truck was being driven by Eugene Alan Hintz, 48, of Cumming.
Three children in the Kia, ages 2, 4 and 6, were taken to Scottish Rite Hospital for treatment. Elrod was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical in Gainesville and Hintz was taken by private vehicle to Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming.
The GSP said Elrod was charged with failing to maintain lane and a child restraint violation, since the 6-year-old child was not in a booster seat.
The highway was closed more than an hour while the accident was cleared.
Thursday
June 26th, 2025
5:17PM
