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Bunton charged in June accident
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A man has been officially charged in the June 16 wreck involving a local educator and his wife.

Mickey Lee Bunton, 66, of Gainesville, was attempting to negotiate a curve on Hwy. 53 E when he traveled off the roadway and then overcorrected. His vehicle met a car driven by

Charles and Kathy Finley of Dawsonville in a head-on collision that sent all three to nearby hospitals.

Charles Finley died July 4 at Grady Memorial Hospital at the age of 64. His wife, Kathy, since has been released to a rehabilitation center. Charles Finley was a retired educator and local historian who had served both as a teacher and media specialist for the Dawson County school system for 42 years.

After his death, the case was turned over to the local district attorneys office, which was working with the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Reconstruction Team (SCRT) to investigate the accident.

Bunton was charged Aug. 14 with vehicular homicide in the second degree, and failure to maintain lane.

The warrant basically says homicide by vehicle, second degree, said Capt. Tony Wooten with the department, and inside the warrant, it says due to the cause of death of Charles Finley without an intention to do so by committing an offense of failure to maintain lane that resulted in the collision between his vehicle and the vehicle being driven by Mr. Finley.

Bunton has bonded out of the Dawson County Detention Center.

The district attorneys office said that it is too early in the investigation to make an official statement on the case.