A 17-year-old male was critically injured in a single vehicle wreck Thursday afternoon on Hwy. 53 East, near Byrd's Mini Storage.

Dawson County Emergency Services responded to a call of an overturned vehicle with heavy damage shortly before 3 p.m. Sept. 29.

Dawson County Emergency Services Chief Lanier Swafford said that the vehicle was on fire, but the fire was quickly extinguished.

The male was trapped in the car and was extricated by crews from Dawson and Forsyth counties. According to Swafford, the extrication took more than an hour.

The man, who was alone in the vehicle, was in critical condition and was taken from the scene to Grady Memorial Hospital by AirLife Georgia.

As of Tuesday, no additional information about the man's condition had been released.
He is currently a student at Dawson County High School.

"The school system was saddened to learn about the accident involving one of our high school students yesterday afternoon. Our entire school community is keeping the student and his family in our thoughts, and we are hoping for a complete recovery," said Dawson County School Superintendent Damon Gibbs.

According to Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman Robin Stone, the vehicle was traveling east on Hwy. 53, driving recklessly, exceeding the speed limit and passing vehicles on the right side of the road.

Stone said that the driver was in the right-turn-only lane and on the shoulder as he was passing other vehicles.

The right turn lane ended at a business driveway and the vehicle left the road and continued to travel on along the roadside in a long, grassy area in a fishtail motion for about 485 feet.

The front of the vehicle struck an embankment and vaulted over the business' second driveway. The front end then struck a chain link fence, and the vehicle traveled through the fence and struck a tree.

The vehicle knocked the tree over and simultaneously overturned onto its top.

Another wreck shortly followed the Hwy. 53 wreck on Sept. 27. The second wreck, involving three vehicles, occurred at the intersection of Hwy. 136 and Ga. 400 around 4 p.m.

The driver at fault, Israel Juarez, 21, of Pendergrass, has been charged with following too closely, driving while unlicensed, having no proof of insurance, driving under the influence and driver to exercise due care.

Three of the people involved in the wreck were transferred to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with non-fatal injuries. Two others were injured but not transferred.

Georgia State Patrol would like to remind drivers to keep a copy of their insurance card in their vehicle or on their person at all times, and to not text while driving or allow their phone to distract them while inside their vehicle.