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Two dead, 3 injured in wreck on Hwy. 53
53 wreck GVL 1 JD
No charges have been filed in connection with this two-vehicle wreck Sunday night that claimed the lives of two people and injured three others. Authorities say alcohol and speed may have contributed to the crash. - photo by Jim Dean (previous profile)

Moments before a fatal head-on collision Sunday night on Hwy. 53 in northeastern Forsyth County, the erratic driving of one of the two vehicles involved in the wreck was reported to authorities.

Forsyth County Sheriff’s Capt. Frank Huggins confirmed that a westbound motorist called 911 to alert authorities that a vehicle, matching the description of a 2005 Dodge Stratus, was "having difficulty maintaining lane.”

Authorities have said alcohol and speed may have contributed to the collision, which the Dodge reportedly caused by crossing into oncoming traffic.

The Dodge struck a 2007 Kia Sportage, killing two people inside the sport utility vehicle, Ricky Joe Frady and Brenda Williams. Three other people, including a teenager in Williams' care, were injured.

As of Tuesday, no charges had been filed and the investigation was continuing.

The news shook the north Forsyth community, particularly Chestatee Elementary, where Williams was a custodian.

Chestatee Principal Rebecca Johnson said Williams was a “caring person” who “supported everyone at the school."

“She always had a kind word of encouragement, was quick to laugh and brought joy to others,” Johnson said.

According to a sheriff’s report, the collision occurred about 8:20 p.m. Sunday on Hwy. 53 near Anderson Lake Road, near the Dawson County line.

Frady, 48, of Tate Frady Road and Williams, 57, of Habitat Drive were killed when a 2005 Dodge Stratus struck Frady's 2007 Kia Sportage, the report said.

The driver of the Dodge, 44-year-old Deborah Elaine Mace of The Trail Road in Gainesville, was flown to Atlanta Medical Center with what authorities described as serious injuries.

Mace was traveling west on Hwy. 53 when she reportedly crossed the centerline and collided with Frady's eastbound vehicle. There were no passengers in Mace's vehicle.

Williams was riding in the back of the Kia, according to the report.

Two other passengers, Kisha Ray and 48-year-old Hattie Lorene Skywark of Tate Frady Road, were injured.

Ray was flown to Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville and Skywark was taken by ambulance to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, authorities said.

A hospital spokesman said Tuesday that Ray had been transferred to the neurology department, where she was listed in stable condition.

Jennifer Caracciolo, spokeswoman for the Forsyth County school system, said Ray is a student at North Forsyth High School.

She said Williams had been at Chestatee since 1998 and also worked on the weekends at Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega to support her family.

Johnson, the principal at Chestatee, said Williams always put others before herself.

“What was so wonderful about Brenda is that she continuously sacrificed her own needs to take care of others, not only the needs of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but those at Chestatee as well,” she said.

One of Frady’s relatives, Betty Frady, said Monday she was not sure where he and his passengers were traveling.

She said Skywark, who is in the intensive care unit at North Fulton, and Frady were engaged. Williams was Frady’s ex-sister-in-law.

Attempts to contact Mace’s family were not successful.

A hospital spokeswoman said Mace is in the intensive care unit at Atlanta Medical Center. Her condition was not available.

The deaths were the second and third of the year on Forsyth County roads. In 2009, there were seven fatal wrecks.

Authorities have said excessive speed was a contributing factor in a Jan. 22 single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of 44-year-old Lori A. Vlasic on Castleberry Road, southwest of Cumming.

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