The Georgia State Patrol released Tuesday afternoon a preliminary crash report following a July 16 wreck on Ga. 365 in Habersham County that left five people dead. The report revealed the identity of one of the victims, who has remained unidentified in the weeks following the accident.
The wreck happened just after 3:20 p.m. on Ga. 365 at its intersection with Mount Zion Road.
The Georgia State Patrol previously told AccessWDUN a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette was driving southbound on the road as a 2015 Ford Explorer was attempting to cross the southbound lanes of the roadway. The Ford Explorer traveled in front of the Corvette, causing the Corvette to strike the Explorer on its passenger side.
"Upon impact, both vehicles ignited and were totally destroyed by fire," the narrative in the preliminary crash report said.
All five people involved in the crash died as a result. Avonlea Holtzclaw, 29, of Dahlonega, was driving the Explorer with her 5- and 6-year-old children as passengers. Holtzclaw and her children were the wife and kids of Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Patrick Neil Holtzclaw. A fundraiser remains open for the Holtzclaw family and can be viewed here.
The occupants of the Corvette included Mitchell Boggs, 58, of Marietta, and Seyhan Kilincci, of Roswell. The Georgia State Patrol was previously unable to confirm Kilincci's identity in the weeks following the crash. Kilincci was reportedly the founder of Project EG, LLC, a Metro Atlanta-based automotive club.
Additionally, the Georgia State Patrol said they were working to determine whether Boggs or Kilincci were driving the Corvette at the time of the accident. GSP said the investigation remained active.
Konswello Monroe, public information officer with the Georgia State Patrol, said the investigation from the GSP Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team could take several months or more to complete.
The preliminary report did not release any information about the speed of the vehicles or any contributing factors in the wreck. This follows comments from Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell in the days following the wreck, in which he claimed the Corvette was traveling "in excess of 150 miles per hour" at the time of the collision. The Habersham County Sheriff's Office is not the investigating agency, and the GSP has been unable to corroborate that claim as of Tuesday afternoon.
Georgia 365 safety improvements
Officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation, Habersham County, and local legislators said they would be looking into safety enhancements on the roadway following the deadly wreck.
A meeting was then held on July 21 between the parties to discuss what safety improvements were possible. One improvement mentioned was the addition of an R-cut interchange at the road's intersection with Mount Zion Road. This project became a top priority for the Georgia DOT following the meeting.
An R-cut would only allow right turns coming from any direction into the intersection and would require additional U-turns to be placed nearby.
Georgia DOT District One Communications Officer Elizabeth Johnson announced Monday afternoon that the R-cut project has gone to the bidding process. Bids must be received no later than Aug. 21 at 2 p.m.
State Senator Bo Hatchett previously told AccessWDUN he was told by officials work could potentially get underway on the project by the end of October.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2023/8/1198237/state-patrol-releases-name-of-previously-unidentified-victim-in-fiery-ga-365-wreck