A two-year-old infant was killed and a suspect was taken into custody as a result of a crash in Blue Ridge Sunday night, March 15.
Fannin County Coroner Becky Callihan identified the child as Cohen Bryson of Rome, Georgia.
The Georgia State Patrol report of the crash said the infant was transported from the scene to Fannin Regional Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Blue Ridge Police Chief Johnny Scearce said Hunter Ethan Elliott, 23, was taken into custody at the scene. The GSP report listed his address as Blue Ridge, however the booking report at the Fannin County Adult Detention Center listed his address as Talking Rock.
Pending charges were confirmed by both the GSP and jail reports.
Monday morning Elliot was in custody. No bond had been set since charges had not yet been filed.
Scearce said Blue Ridge officers were dispatched to the crash, which occurred around 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of Georgia highways 2 and 5 (Highway 515 and Blue Ridge Drive), commonly known as the McDonald’s intersection.
Scearce said once it was determined a fatality had occurred, his officers contacted the Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) to investigate.
The GSP report said Bryson a 2008 Ford Escape driven by Joshua Bryson, 24, of Rome. The Escape was stopped at the traffic light, headed west.
Elliot was driving a 2016 Ford Heavy Duty truck westbound, approaching the Escape from the rear.
The GSP report said, “due to suspected alcohol impairment and distracted driving” by Elliott, the truck struck the Escape in the rear.
Santana Kelley, 23, of Shannon, Georgia, a front seat passenger in the Escape, was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga with serious injuries, the report said. Joshua Bryson was not injured.
Charges are pending the outcome of the SCRT investigation.