Teen Killed In Cherokee County Crash Identified

BALL GROUND, GA -- The Cherokee Sheriff's Office has released the identities of the teenagers involved in a fatal collision reported Monday afternoon in the northeast part of the county.

A preliminary investigation indicates a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by 17-year-old Cameron Childers of Canton was traveling westbound on Hightower Road when it left the roadway, rolled down an embankment and struck a tree, said sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Marianne Kelley.

Cherokee County dispatchers received the call of the accident, which took place just east of Lower Creighton Road, around 1:52 p.m. June 19.

Childers was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. The sheriff's office said the 16-year-old passenger, Mahlon Thornton, also of Canton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt. Kelley told Patch both teenagers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision. The sheriff's office's Traffic Enforcement Unit is investigating the accident.

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