About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2024)
r .. sj*. ^• ■ . • ,.- -f-f- A- - Defendents in kidnapping, terrorism case scheduled for /■r M S ^ ;vu\ sentencing, inside, 3a Thursday, March 7,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Report details Ga. 365 crash, deaths of 5 BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Corvette traveling more than 100 mph on Ga. 365 flew through the air for almost 200 feet. A Ford Explorer carrying two children under the age of 10 acted almost as a “takeoff ramp.” These are some of the details in a Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team report on the July 16, 2023 wreck that killed five people. But there are still details from the crash that investigators believe cannot be known. The July 16, 2023 wreck killed Avonlea Holtzclaw, 29, of Dahlonega, and her two children, 7-year-old Colton and 5-year-old Madeline. Holtzclaw was married to Hall County Sheriff's Office Deputy Patrick Neil Holtzclaw. Holtzclaw was trying to cross Ga. 365 in a Ford Explorer to head west on Mt. Zion Road when she was hit by a Chevrolet Corvette. The two men in the Corvette — Mitchell Boggs, 58, of Marietta and Seyhan Kilincci, 51, of Roswell — also died at the scene. Boggs owned the Corvette, but the Georgia State Patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is not sure who was driving the car more than 100 mph on the 65-mph highway. Georgia State Patrol finalized the report late last month and released it to The Times through an open records request Tuesday, March 5. After the initial impact, the Ford Explorer started rolling over on its driver's side and created a “takeoff ramp for the Corvette to become airborne,” according to the report. The Corvette flew through the air for 194 feet, while the Ford Explorer slid 142 feet. Both cars were engulfed in flames. The investigators wrote that the “catastrophic damage and fire” to both vehicles meant the reconstruction team could not get crash data from either vehicle. The minimum speed calculated for the Corvette was between 106- 120 mph. “The speed that has been calculated is the bare minimum speed the Corvette was traveling,” the report stated. “The catastrophic damage the Corvette sustained could not be used in the speed calculation. It is not mathematically possible to account for the severity of damage it sustained.” There was 733 feet of sight distance from the center of the concrete crossover, which the Corvette would have traveled in 4.7 seconds. “It is to be noted the Corvette is a very low-profile vehicle and close to the ground,” according to the report. “Especially when compared to other motor vehicles on the roadway. This would make it more difficult to clearly see and interpret the extreme speed the Corvette was See Wreck 13A Taking action Rob Moore Habersham County photo Habersham County Emergency Services Battalion Chief Brandon Whitney and other personnel haul up the stokes basket carrying the injured driver. Firefighters pull woman from car after crash into ravine BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A woman was rescued Monday, March 4, after a wreck sent her car into a Habersham County ravine and trapped her inside the vehicle, according to authorities. The single-vehicle wreck happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday on Crane Mill Road near Mud Creek Road. Personnel from Habersham County Emergency Services, Baldwin Fire, Cornelia Fire, the Habersham County Sheriff's Office and a Gainesville Fire unit in the area responded to the call. Habersham County Emergency Services Chief Brandon Whitney said the woman “ran off the road approximately 70 feet down an embankment.” “It appears her car has rolled multiple times,” Whitney said in a news release. “She was entrapped inside the vehicle. The patient did have to be extricated, the door removed, and she was removed from the vehicle at this time and secured in a stokes basket with a backboard.” The woman was transported to the hospital. Georgia State Patrol is investigating the wreck. Provided by Habersham County Fire department personnel from Gainesville, Baldwin and Habersham County tend to a trapped driver inside her vehicle on Crane Mill Road near Mud Creek Road. Hall medical providers impacted by cyberattack BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com One of the most serious cyberattacks on the healthcare system in U.S. history has not spared medical providers in Northeast Georgia. Change Healthcare, which connects insurance compa nies and medical providers and processes 14 billion trans actions a year, was breached Feb. 21 by what the American Hospital Association has called “the most significant cyber attack on the U.S. health care system in American history.” “Change Healthcare is the predominant source of more than 100 critical functions that keep the health care sys tem operating,” APIA wrote in a letter urging Congress to take action. “Significant portions of Change Healthcare's functionality have been crippled. As a result, patients have struggled to get timely access to care and billions of dollars have stopped flowing to providers, thereby threatening the financial viability of hospitals, health systems, physician offices and other providers.” Northeast Georgia Health System, which serves more than one million people across more than 18 counties, said in a statement Wednesday that the hack has impacted their pharmacy services and led to delays in processing about $2 million in insurance claims. “NGHS typically uses Change Healthcare to help us process some pharmacy benefits, but our IT Security teams See Hack 13A Job fair set for April 11 at civic center Those seeking work or a better job can meet with potential employers at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce's annual spring job fair. The Spring Job Fair & Career Expo, set for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, April 11, will feature 70-plus employ ers looking for workers. The fair will take place at the Gainesville Civic Center, 830 Green St. The event is free, and job seekers can complete appli cations on site. Exhibit space costs $350 for chamber members and $450 for non-members. Coordinating the event are the chamber, Lanier Tech nical College and the Georgia Department of Labor. More information can be found online at ghcc.com. Jeff Gill Liquor store could replace old DUI school in Oakwood BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Class is over at the DUI and defensive driving school. Next on tap could be a liquor store. Oakwood City Council has voted to rezone a .28-acre site at 4516 McEver Road to a commercial designation allowing for a liquor store, among other uses. “The liquor store was brought up only because that is what was under discussion by the buyer and had previously been discussed at the (Oakwood Planning Commission) meeting,” said Steve Gilliam, a Gainesville lawyer who served as the rezoning applicant. “No decision has been made as to the final use. ... The buyer is looking for uses that would not require tearing the building down.” The property went through a recent sale. The new owner, Michael Brunner, of Atlanta- based Deal Team LLC, declined comment. The inside of the building will be “refurbished for commercial retail use,” states a letter from Gilliam to Oakwood. “There will be no destruction or removal of the existing building footprint or exterior walls. The exterior will be painted with updated colors and windows.” The history of the property wasn't available, but Hall County See DUI 13A An old DUI school could become a liquor store, with a recent rezoning approval in Oakwood. Jeff Gill The Times
