NORTHWEST FORSYTH — In what appeared to be the most severe crash of the Christmas holiday period, a 25-year-old Cumming man suffered critical injuries in a two-vehicle collision in northwestern Forsyth County, authorities said.
According to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the wreck occurred about 5 p.m. Monday as the man was traveling east on Frix Road, which runs between Canton (Hwy. 20) and Matt highways (Hwy. 369). He reportedly lost control of a 1999 Mercedes Benz in a curve, striking a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado near Heardsville Road.
According to Epifanio Rodriguez, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, the Mercedes hydroplaned and began to rotate, striking the pickup truck on its front end before hitting a wooden fence.
The man was not wearing a seat belt. Once emergency personnel freed him from the car, he was taken to an area hospital in “extremely critical” condition, Rodriguez said.
The driver of the Chevrolet, a 46-year-old man from Cumming, had been waiting to turn left into a driveway. He was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
No charges have been filed as the investigation continues.
In other traffic incidents over the holiday break, two drivers suffered non-life threatening injuries when their vehicles collided about 4:15 p.m. Dec. 26.
A Hyundai Accent was reportedly traveling at a high speed into the intersection of Hwy. 9 and Buford Dam Road when it crashed into a Ford F150 pickup truck.
The impact to the front passenger corner of the truck was substantial enough to push the 35-year-old male driver through the passenger side window, Rodriguez said.
Though initially unresponsive, his most recent condition in an area hospital was listed as stable.
The 45-year-old female drive of the Hyundai was also taken to a hospital and was last listed in good condition.
No charges have been filed. It was not immediately known which vehicle had the right of way.
Though the crash occurred within the city of Cumming, the sheriff’s office responded due to the initial severity of the injuries, Rodriguez said.
The only other significant wreck over the weekend was a head-on collision on Dec. 27 at Dawsonville Highway (Hwy. 53) and Chestatee Heights Road in extreme northeast Forsyth. However, no serious injuries resulted, he said.
While accidents were sparse and traffic was light due to the holiday, seemingly incessant rain and flooding caused a small handful of road closures through Christmas.
Structural concerns caused the county to close Samples Road at Parker Drive on Christmas Eve, Rodriguez said.
He said the sheriff’s office received complaints throughout the closure — the road opened Monday night — that motorists were removing the orange cones used to block entry to the route.
Nicholson Road at Old Federal Road was also closed Dec. 24 and into Christmas Day due to flooding.
Parts of Mullinax Road were “almost completely flooded with several inches of water” during the same time period.