Traffic accident investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) were kept busy over the weekend with a number of wrecks. Included were at least three which resulted in people being taken to the hospital and one three-vehicle crash which ended with one vehicle landing on top of another.
Here are the reports as submitted by the sheriff’s office:
365 at 52:
Two drivers were injured just before 9:30 Saturday morning, March 8, 2025, in a collision at the intersection of Cornelia Highway (SR 365) and Lula Road (SR 52).
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.
According to the investigation to date, the driver of a Fed-Ex box truck, Eleuterio Vargas, 65, of Covington, was attempting to make a left-hand turn from Cornelia Highway northbound onto Lula Road westbound. The traffic signal was flashing yellow at the time. Mr. Vargas pulled into the path of a southbound passenger vehicle being driven by Gilbert Ibarra, 31, of Gainesville.
Both drivers were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment. Mr. Vargas was charged with failure to yield turning left.
Cornelia Highway southbound was closed for about an hour while the investigation was underway.
Dawsonville Highway at Little Hall Park:
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) was called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Dawsonville Highway (SR 53) near the entrance to Little Hall Park Saturday morning, March 8, 2025.
The collision was reported just before 11 a.m.
The preliminary investigation determined the driver of a passenger vehicle, identified as Raymond Jose Gutierrez, 20, of Gainesville, was traveling northbound on Dawsonville Highway when he drove onto the shoulder of the road. He was able to navigate back onto the roadway, but he crossed the centerline and traveled into the southbound lane. At that time, he struck a southbound SUV head-on. Both Mr. Gutierrez and the driver of the other vehicle, Sherika Shanel Young, 40, of Gainesville, were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Charges are pending.
Dawsonville Highway was closed to traffic for approximately one hour as the result of the crash.
Queen City Pkwy. at Aviation:
One person was injured and the roadway was closed for just over an hour following a three-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Queen City Parkway at Aviation Boulevard in Gainesville.
Deputies with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) were dispatched to the scene at 5:10 p.m. HCSO’s Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) took the lead in the investigation.
Investigators have determined from their preliminary investigation that the driver of a Honda Accord, identified as Juan Ramirez, 43, of Gainesville, was traveling eastbound on Aviation Boulevard. As he approached the traffic light at the intersection of Queen City Parkway, Mr. Ramirez suffered an apparent seizure and ran the red light, striking a passenger vehicle that was traveling southbound through the intersection. Both vehicles traveled into the northbound lanes of Queen City Parkway, striking an SUV that was waiting at the light to make a left turn onto Aviation Boulevard. During the course of the crash, Mr. Ramirez’s vehicle landed on top of the passenger car.
Mr. Ramirez suffered non-life threatening injuries. The other drivers were not injured.
Queen City Parkway was closed intermittently for the traffic investigation. The road was reopened just before 8:30 p.m.