By Joe Johnson
Two men reportedly were seriously injured Sunday night when the SUV in which they were traveling crashed on the Athens Perimeter and both men were ejected from the vehicle.
According to Lt. Shaun Barnett, public information officer for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, officers responded shortly after 7 p.m. to a single-vehicle crash on the perimeter’s outer loop, about one mile past the Atlanta Highway overpass but prior to the Oconee County line.
“The initial investigation revealed that a 1998 Chevrolet Tracker exited the roadway and struck a guardrail.” he said, and “the vehicle then re-entered the roadway and struck another guardrail.
Barnett said the Tracker flipped over and landed upside down and both occupants were ejected from the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.
Joshua Cruz, 29, of Grayson, was transported by National EMS to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, the officer said, and Connor Squires, 23, of Loganville, was also transported by NEMS and was expected to survive.
“At this time, it is believed that Squires was the driver of the vehicle,” Barnett said. “However, due to both occupants being ejected, investigators are still trying to confirm who the driver was at the time of the crash.”
Barnett said that investigators have not ruled out the possibility that alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash because “there was unopened alcohol recovered from near the vehicle.”
He added, “Of course, transporting unopened alcohol is not necessarily an indication that they had been drinking prior to the crash.”
Police asked for anyone with information regarding this crash is to contact Senior Police Officer Denmark at (762) 400-7364 or via email at shawn.denmark@accgov.com; or, Sgt. Wood at (762) 400-7087 or via email at michael.wood@accgov.com.