A Rabun Gap man remains jailed in Rabun County after a five-vehicle wreck that left two people dead and injured several others Saturday afternoon north of Clayton.
Tristan Michael Bartlett, 22, is charged with two counts of second-degree homicide by vehicle, driver to exercise due care and failure to maintain lane, Rabun County Detention Center records show.
Bartlett’s 2006 Jeep Commander was traveling on Ga. 15/U.S. 441 and he failed to maintain his lane and crossed the centerline into northbound traffic, said Cpl. John Getty of Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa.
The Jeep set off a chain reaction wreck involving four other vehicles on Ga. 15/U.S. 441 at Old 441, Getty said.
Macon County Sheriff’s Office Deputy David Head, 46, and his wife Dawn Head of Scaly Mountain, N.C., were occupying a Harley-Davidson motorcycle involved in the collision and died of their injuries, according to Macon County, N.C., Sheriff Robert L. Holland.
Other vehicles involved in the collision included a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck occupied by Michael Payne, 51, and Tyler Payne, 26, of Hampton, Tenn.; a 2011 Kia Sorento occupied by Jessica Robinson, 41, Jerry Robinson, 69, Linda Robinson, 65, and Jerry Parker, 6, of Clayton; a 2016 Chevrolet pickup truck occupied by Breanna Almeida, 25, and Hanna Abercrombie, 31, both of Franklin, N.C., and Blake Ashmon, 32, of Stone Mountain, Getty said.
Bartlett suffered minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to Mountain Lakes Medical Center, Getty said. Almeida and Abercrombie had complaints of minor injuries.
The Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is conducting the crash investigation.
