Woman dead, several children seriously hurt in Cobb wreck

Cobb County police are investigating a fatal wreck Tuesday on Factory Shoals Road.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

Cobb County police are investigating a fatal wreck Tuesday on Factory Shoals Road.

A woman was killed and five people, including three children, were hospitalized with serious injuries following a four-car wreck in Cobb County on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

The crash happened on Factory Shoals Road, just north of South Gordon Road in Mableton, at around 5:50 p.m. Police said a Nissan Kicks driven by 55-year-old Sylvia Williamson crossed the double yellow line, entered the northbound lanes and collided with a 2018 Ford F-150 before hitting two other vehicles.

A 1-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl were also in the Nissan, along with two women, ages 28 and 25, officials said.

It’s unclear what caused the vehicle to cross into the opposite lane.

Traffic investigators said the Nissan then struck a 2010 Dodge Dakota before colliding head-on with a 2001 Acura MDX, which spun it counterclockwise. The Nissan eventually came to rest across both northbound lanes.

Williamson, of Austell, died at the scene, police said, while the two youngest children and two female passengers were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. The 8-year-old was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite with severe injuries. The driver of the Acura was also hurt and taken to Wellstar Cobb Hospital, officials added.

It was the third crash to involve children in metro Atlanta since Sunday, when two young kids were killed in separate crashes in Gwinnett County.

Abigail “Abby” Joy Hernandez, 4, was killed while walking in the parking lot outside of Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Mall of Georgia just after 4 p.m. A 2004 Chevrolet Silverado hit her and two others, authorities said at the time. The two others, ages 31 and 7, were taken to Northside Hospital Gwinnett with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Just minutes earlier, 5-year-old Aura Camarono was among three people killed in a wreck at the intersection of Peachtree Corners Circle and Elmside Village Lane.

In that case, police said a BMW struck the driver-side door of a Chevrolet Camaro. The BMW’s driver, Armas Harding, and passenger Laura Rueda, both 46-year-old Brookhaven residents, died at the scene. Aura was in the backseat of the Camaro along with a 6-year-old, who was hospitalized with serious injuries, authorities said.

Then on Tuesday morning, a 16-year-old driver was killed in a single-car crash in DeKalb County, according to police. He was identified as Guillermo Aguas-Bahena, the fifth Lakeside High School student to die in a crash this school year. Another student was expected to survive, according to a letter sent to parents by the principal.

Investigations are ongoing into all four crashes.