Woman Dies From Injuries In Crash; Driver Charged With Homicide

BALL GROUND, GA -- A woman who was ejected from a pickup truck Tuesday afternoon in a two-vehicle collision has passed away, the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said Friday. Sandra Potts, 37, died Thursday as a result of the injuries she sustained in the collision along Upper Bethany Road. The driver of the vehicle, Kenneth Michael Williams, also 37, is now charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree and vehicular homicide in the second degree, the agency added.

Deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office were dispatched around 3:10 p.m. July 25 to an accident on Upper Bethany Road at Damascus Road. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. Or if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

A preliminary investigation reveals a white Ford Ranger driven by Williams, of Ellijay, failed to yield at an intersection and was hit by an oncoming black Chevrolet Silverado, the sheriff's office said.

The Silverado, driven by Ball Ground resident Blake Sears, 29, traveled off the roadway into a ditch and overturned. The Ford Ranger also overturned and ejected passengers, Ellijay residents Robert Jett, 26, and Potts. Both passengers were not wearing seatbelts, said Sgt. Marianne Kelley.

Potts, who suffered serious injuries, was life-flighted to the hospital while Jett was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Chevrolet Silverado also had two other passengers in the truck, Chasati Sears, 28, and the couple's infant daughter. All parties in the Silverado were seat belted properly and were not injured, Kelley added.

Along with the vehicular homicide charges, Williams is also charged with DUI drugs, serious injury by motor vehicle, reckless driving, failing to stop at a stop sign, driving on a suspended license, driving with no insurance, no seatbelt and driving an unsafe vehicle.

He was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center and has a bond of $23,136.

Photo: Kenneth Michael Williams. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office