Austell Man Dies in Thanksgiving Crash

A Thanksgiving crash in Paulding killed an Austell man.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, 56-year-old Wade Douglas Cole was killed in a two-vehicle crash about 4:50 p.m. Thursday on Georgia 6.

GSP spokesman Gordy Wright said a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier being driven by 39-year-old Crystal Sandefur of Lithia Springs was westbound on Georgia 6 and was attempting to make a left turn onto the access road; the Cavalier turned into the path of Cole’s motorcycle.

Wright said the crash remains under investigation by the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team from Calhoun, and charges are pending the completion of that investigation.

The Paulding incident was the first of two fatal crashes reported by the GSP post in Cartersville during the 102-hour Thanksgiving holiday traffic period, which ran from 6 p.m. Wednesday until midnight Sunday. — Ronnie Eugene Callahan, 28, of Fairmount, and Michael Jaimes, 10, of Acworth.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety reports that in all, 15 people lost their lives on crashes across the state during the holiday period—two more than last year.

Thursday’s fatal crash wasn’t the first in Paulding for the month. Jonathan Dale “Jon” Osborne, 32, of Dallas on Georgia 61 near Braswell Mountain Road.

Another fatal crash last week, this one in Tennessee, .