A Whitfield County deputy transporting two prisoners to Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto hit a camper when she ran a stop sign in the north end of Hall County Monday morning.
Cpl. Spencer Munger of the Georgia State Patrol said the crash happened at 7:50 a.m. at the intersection of Lula Road (Georgia Highway 52) and Clarks Bridge Road (Georgia Highway 284) just outside of Clermont.
Munger said Deputy Rosalia Pacheco-Hernandez, 23, of Dalton was traveling east on Georgia 52 in a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria. The investigation found that the deputy failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a toy-hauler camper being pulled by a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500. The patrol car caught fire after impact, according to Munger.
An earlier report from Hall County Fire Services said all of the occupants of both vehicles were able to get out of the vehicles before they arrived, escaping the fire.
The deputy's passengers were two inmates being transported to the prison in Habersham County from northwest Georgia. They have been identified as Amanda Nicole Townsend, 33, of Tunnel Hill and Hillary Marie Mchan, 30, of Dalton. The deputy and the inmates sustained non-life threatening injuries and were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment.
The driver of the vehicle that was hit, Steven Lawrence Gallo and his passenger Renee Therese Gallo, both 57 and both from Lakeworth, Fla., were not injured.
Munger said Dep. Pacheco-Hernandez is considered at fault in the crash, but she will not face specific charges.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/10/458932/update-deputy-ran-stop-sign-hit-camper-in-monday-morning-crash-near-clermont