A Lakemont man was killed Thursday morning in a two-vehicle collision on Cleveland Highway/US 129. A Gainesville woman faces charges in the crash.
According to investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Accident Investigation Unit (AIU), 38-year-old Angelica Marisol Vilchis-Cruz was driving a GMC Sierra southbound on Cleveland Highway near Clarks Bridge Road. Authorities say she crossed into the northbound lane of travel, striking a Ford Explorer head-on.
“The investigation determined Ms. Vilchis-Cruz had fallen asleep behind the wheel,” said HCSO spokesperson B.J. Williams.
Vilchis-Cruz and the driver of the Explorer, 27-year-old Samantha Marie Motes of Clermont, were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
A passenger in Motes’ vehicle, 31-year-old DeWayne O’Neil Smith had to be extricated from the wreckage. He was pronounced dead at the hospital just after 9 a.m. on October 16.
After Vilchis-Cruz was treated at the hospital, she was transported to the Hall County Jail on charges of first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane.
According to Williams, she remains in jail with no bond.
The fatal collision occurred just after 7:45 a.m. Cleveland Highway was closed to traffic for approximately two hours for the accident investigation.
