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Serious wreck injures seven
7 Serious Wreck pic
Three people, including a juvenile, were airlifted in critical condition Saturday morning following a collision on Hwy. 53 West. - photo by David Renner Dawson Community News

A head-on collision on Hwy. 53 West, near Duck Thurmond Road, sent seven people, including three juveniles, to area hospitals Saturday morning.

Officials with the Georgia State Patrol said the driver of a passenger car crossed the center line and collided with a van, carrying a family of six.

Charges are pending against the 65-year-old driver, Beverly Prior, of Rossville.

"She said she was trying to activate the voice command on her navigation system and reading signs when she crashed," said Robin Stone, state patrol spokeswoman.

Everyone in both vehicles was injured in the collision.

"Three of them, including one of the juveniles, were airlifted in serious condition," said Dawson County Sheriff's Capt. Tony Wooten.

Two were airlifted from a landing zone at nearby Atlanta Motorsports Park and a third from Station No. 1 in downtown Dawsonville.

The other four were taken by ambulance to area hospitals, according to Dawson County Emergency Services Battalion Chief Jamerson Kerby.

The conditions of the injured were not available Tuesday afternoon.

Pickens County Emergency personnel assisted in transporting the injured.

Georgia State Patrol is investigating the wreck that occurred just after 10 a.m. and shut traffic down on Hwy. 53 for about an hour.