Police: 19 killed on Georgia roads during New Year’s weekend

Crashes killed 19 people during the New Year’s holiday weekend, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

That’s an increase from the previous weekend, when 13 were killed during the Christmas holiday. A year ago, 15 died during the 2022 New Year holiday.

Several deadly crashes were reported in metro Atlanta, including two that killed a total of four people in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties, according to police.

Investigators believe both alcohol and excessive speed were factors in a crash that killed two people Saturday night in Gwinnett, police said.

A 31-year-old driver left the roadway and struck a telephone pole, killing himself and a passenger, a Gwinnett police spokesperson said. Alexander Alzate of Snellville and a passenger, 26-year-old Sandy Prado of Snellville, died in the crash.

The crash happened in the Norcross area on Harbins Road near Willow Brook Drive, police said.

Earlier Saturday, a Covington man was killed in a crash in East Point, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

Latwon Mickles, 47, was driving eastbound on Ga. 166 around 10 a.m. when he lost control of his GMC Envoy, the crash report states. Investigators believe speed was a factor.

Around 3 a.m. Monday, officers were called to a fiery, two-vehicle crash on I-20 eastbound near Turner Hill Road, according to DeKalb County police.

“It appears that the suspect vehicle struck the second vehicle before both came to a rest and (were) engulfed in flames,” a spokesperson for the agency said.

The names of those killed were not immediately released. Two others were also injured in the crash, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

On Sunday afternoon, a pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run crash in DeKalb, police said.