An 85-year-old Tennessee woman died in that two-vehicle collision on Browns Bridge Road Monday morning. The accident was reported just after 9:30 in the area of Whiporwill Road, a spokswoman for the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said Tuesday. The victim was Barbara Ann Payne of Maryville, Tennessee.
“According to the investigation at the scene, Jared Bryant Miranda Rosas, 24, of Dawsonville
was backing an International 4000 flatbed truck into the westbound lane of Browns Bridge
Road from a makeshift parking spot on the north shoulder of the road,” B.J. Williams said. “A pedestrian,
Gerardo Miranda Cruz, 49, of Lakewood, Washington, was in the roadway attempting to stop traffic
so the truck driver could back into the road.”
Williams said the investigation determined Cruz was not wearing reflective clothing but was dressed in a camouflage shirt and tan pants.
The driver of the second vehicle involved in the accident, Robert Quinn Payne, 89, like Ms. Payne from Maryville, Tennessee, was traveling westbound on Browns Bridge Road at the time and was unable to see Cruz, Williams added, and struck the back of the flatbed truck.
The victim was a front-seat passenger in her husband’s vehicle. She was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville where she was pronounced dead. Mr. Payne suffered visible, but non-life-threatening injuries in the crash; he also was taken to the hospital.
Investigators with the sheriff’s office arrested Miranda Rosas on charges of homicide by vehicle in the second degree and improper backing. Cruz was arrested on a charge of pedestrian in the roadway.
Browns Bridge Road was closed for approximately two-and-a-half hours because of the accident.