Four UGA Students Killed In Oconee Crash

ATHENS, GA -- Four University of Georgia students, all from metro Atlanta, were killed and a fifth was critically injured in a car wreck Wednesday night in Oconee County.

The victims, all of them women, were in a Toyota Camry that struck another vehicle on Highway 15, a two-lane, just outside of Watkinsville, according to Georgia State Patrol.

Kayla Canedo, 19, of Alpharetta, Brittany Feldman, 20, of Alpharetta, Christina Semeria, 19, of Milton and Halle Scott, 19, of Dunwoody, all died. Agnes Kim, 21, of Snellville, was the driver of the car. She was in critical condition Thursday.

The driver of the other vehicle, Abby Short, 27, of Demorest, also was hospitalized.

"We grieve with them and we pray for comfort and solace during these unimaginable circumstances," Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said in one of a string of posts on the sheriff's office Facebook page.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, the victims' car ended up in a ditch after the wreck. Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and the fourth died after being taken to Athens Regional Medical Center.

The crash happened at about 8:55 p.m. Wednesday night, according to the state patrol.

In a statement, the patrol said Kim's Camry traveled into the oncoming lane and was hit in the side by Short's Chevrolet Cobalt.

Troopers do not think alcohol was a factor in the crash.

State Patrol was continuing to investigate the crash on Thursday and no charges had been filed as of late Thursday morning.

University of Georgia President Jere Morehead sent out an email early Thursday expressing sympathy to the victims' friends and families.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our students who were victims," Morehead wrote in the email. "We ask that you keep these students and their family and friends in your thoughts and prayers."

As news spread late Wednesday of the crash, a crowd of people gathered at the Young Life Center on UGA's campus, according to the Red & Black campus newspaper.

On Facebook, Berry said he spent the night at the hospital with friends and family members of the victims.

"To the YoungLife group and leaders that were at the hospital, as well as the other young men and women that were there ... You were patient, compassionate, respectful and prayerful I am thankful to have met you and see your love and concern," Berry said.