An elderly Columbia County woman was killed Wednesday evening in a two-vehicle crash at a local intersection, and another driver now faces charges in connection with her death.
According to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred around 6 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Appling Harlem Road and North Fairview Drive.
Deputies say Mildred Ann Gay, 79, of Harlem, was driving south on Appling Harlem Road when another vehicle entered the intersection from Old Union Road and struck her car. Investigators determined the second driver, identified as 32-year-old Drayton McDaniel II of Augusta, had been stopped at the stop sign on Old Union Road before attempting to cross Appling Harlem Road and continue west on North Fairview Drive.
McDaniel reportedly told deputies he did not see Gay’s vehicle approaching and pulled into the intersection. The front right corner of McDaniel’s vehicle struck the left rear side of Gay’s car, causing it to leave the roadway and crash into a large metal utility pole on the west shoulder, authorities said.
Gay was transported by Gold Cross EMS to Doctor’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later. McDaniel was not injured in the crash.
McDaniel was arrested at the scene and charged with failure to stop at a stop sign and second-degree vehicular homicide. He was booked into the Columbia County Detention Center and later released on a $2,200 bond.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit is continuing to investigate the fatal crash.
