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Fatal wreck being probed
Three injured remain in hospital
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Forsyth County News

It could be a month before charges, if any, are filed in connection with a head-on collision that claimed lives of two people Sunday night on Hwy. 53 near the Forsyth-Dawson County line.

Authorities have said alcohol and excessive speed may have been contributing factors in the wreck, which remains under investigation.

“We’re waiting on blood test results from the state crime lab,” said Forsyth County Sheriff’s Capt. Frank Huggins. “This could take up to a month or longer, depending on how busy the lab is.”

Ricky Joe Frady, 48, and his passenger, 57-year-old Brenda Williams, were killed when a 2005 Dodge Stratus struck Frady’s 2007 Kia Sportage about 8:20 p.m. near Anderson Lake Road.

The violent collision also injured three other people, all of whom remain hospitalized, said Forsyth County Sheriff’s Investigator Ron Tomblin.

Huggins said moments before the wreck, a motorist on Hwy. 53 called 911 to report the erratic driving of a vehicle matching the Dodge’s description.

Tomblin, a traffic specialist, declined to discuss specifics of the investigation.

He did say, however, that the eastbound Dodge driven by 44-year-old Deborah Elaine Mace of Gainesville crossed the centerline and collided with the oncoming Kia.

Tomblin also confirmed that 18-year-old Kisha Ray, who was injured in the wreck, lived with Williams, her grandmother on Habitat Drive.

Ray was flown to Gwinnett Medical Center, where she was later transferred to the hospital’s neurological department.

Frady’s other passenger, Hattie Lorene Skywark of Tate Frady Road, was taken to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell.

A relative has said Skywark, 48, and Frady were engaged and that Williams was Frady’s ex-sister-in-law.

Mace was flown to Atlanta Medical Center, where she is in intensive care. There were no passengers in her vehicle.

Williams was a custodian at Chestatee Elementary School, school officials have said, and worked on the weekends at Chestatee Regional Hospital to take care of Ray, her other grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Chestatee Principal Rebecca Johnson has described Williams as a “caring person” who “supported everyone at the school.”

Ray is a senior at North Forsyth High School.

Forsyth County Schools spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo said while no formal plan has been established, district officials are working on assistance efforts with members of Williams’ and Ray’s families.

The deaths were the second and third of the year on Forsyth County roads. In 2009, there were seven fatal wrecks.

Authorities have said excessive speed was a contributing factor in a Jan. 22 single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of 44-year-old Lori A. Vlasic on Castleberry Road, southwest of Cumming.