Charges Pending in Fatal Saturday Wreck on Big A Road

This past Saturday, at approximately 8:34, Stephens County E-911 Dispatch received a call that originally reported a collision between a vehicle and pedestrian, but upon dispatch, Toccoa Police officers discovered the collision had involved a truck and a motorcycle, not a pedestrian. 

Response to the crash closed the northbound lane of Big A Road for several hours Saturday evening as local first responders and the Georgia State Patrol responded to the wreck and the GSP Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, or SCRT, investigated the incident. 

Yesterday, GSP released an initial report on the incident, stating that, on May 18 at 8:34 p.m., Troopers were dispatched to Big A Road at Bellvue Drive to investigate a motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival their investigation determined that a Chevrolet Silverado was traveling south on Big A Road in the continuous turning lane. A Harley motorcycle was traveling north on Big A Road in the left northbound lane when the Chevy attempted to turn left from Big A Road onto Bellvue Drive and turned in front of the Harley.

 The front Harley struck the front of Chevy and the impact caused the Harley to overturn onto its right side and was dragged by Chevy from the left lane of Big A Road into the right lane of Big A Road. The Harley came to a final uncontrolled rest overturned on its right side in the intersection of Big A Road and Bellvue Drive.

The driver of the Harley, Shane Alzen of Toccoa, succumbed to his injuries sustained from the crash and the passenger on the Harley, Julie Alzen, was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia with serious injuries. No further official information on her medical status is available.

The SCRT investigation is currently ongoing and the GSP Report did not name the driver of the Silverado, but did say that charges against the driver are pending until the completion of the investigation. 

Also released yesterday was the initial GSP report on a wreck on May 11 on East Silver Shoals Road and Suttles Road. Stephens County E-911 Dispatch received a report of a multiple-vehicle collision at approximately 3:45 p.m. Local first responders and GSP were dispatched to the scene, with GSP taking command of the incident. According to the report released yesterday, a 1988 Chevy S10 driven by Freddie Lee Gilchrist, 31, of Toccoa, and a 2008 Honda Civic driven by Wanda Tench Nalley, 54, of Eastanollee, were traveling east on Silver Shoals Road when the Honda Civic stopped due to dogs in the roadway in front of her vehicle. According to the report, Gilchrist, who was traveling too fast for conditions and following too closely behind the Honda Civic, struck the back of the Honda Civic with the front of the Chevy S10. 

After impact, the Chevy S10 traveled off the north shoulder of East Silver Shoals Road and struck several small trees before coming to an uncontrolled rest off the north shoulder of the roadway with the front of the truck facing north and resting against some trees. The Honda Civic traveled off the south shoulder of East Silver Shoals Road, traveled across Suttles Road and off the east shoulder, where it struck a guardrail and came to an uncontrolled rest off the east shoulder of Suttles Road.

Debris from the Chevy S10 and the Honda Civic struck a Honda Passport that was, at the time, traveling west on East Silver Shoals Road in the westbound lane. The Passport suffered minor damage. 

SCRT responded to the scene, and according to the GSP Preliminary report, Freddie Gilchrist was transported by Franklin County EMS to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with a suspected serious injury; and a passenger in the S10, Courtney Gilchrist, 27, of Toccoa, was transported by Life Flight to Anderson Hospital in Anderson, South Carolina, for treatment of suspected serious injuries. Nalley was transported by Stephens County EMS to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for treatment of suspected serious injuries, while one passenger in the Honda Civic, Tammy Tench, 53, of Toccoa, was not wearing a seatbelt and was transported by Stephens County EMS to NEGMC, and a second passenger in the Civic, a 12-year-old male, was transported by Franklin County EMS to NEGMC. A third passenger in the Civic, an 11-year-old male, was transported by Stephens County EMS to NEGMC. All three passengers suffered suspected serious injuries. No update has been provided on the medical status of any of the individuals. Freddie Gilchrist, Tammy Tench and the 12-year-old male child were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, according to the GSP report. Freddie Gilchrist was cited for speeding, following too closely, and not wearing a seatbelt. The investigation is classified as ongoing.

Also on May 11, Stephens County E-911 dispatched first responders to a single-vehicle motorcycle crash at Toms Creek Baptist Church at approximately 8 p.m. and a subject was life flighted for medical care; and on May 11 at approximately 2 p.m. a subject was transported by Stephens County EMS for medical care after a single-vehicle motorcycle accident in the area of Skyline Drive and Charles Street; and on May 12 at approximately 1:45 p.m. first responders were dispatched to the area of Fernside Drive and Fernpoint Drive for a two-vehicle head-on crash, where one individual was transported by Stephens County EMS for medical care. WNEG News is waiting for preliminary GSP reports on these three incidents, and will provide updates as they become available.