Georgia authorities say a deputy's wife and two kids died after they were involved in a deadly crash. (Hall County Sheriff’s Office)
Alto, Ga.
Authorities in Georgia say five people, including the wife and two young children of a deputy, were killed in a crash over the weekend.
According to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Patrick Neil Holtzclaw’s wife and his two children, ages 5 and 6, were involved in the collision.
The Associated Press reports the crash occurred last Sunday on a busy northeast Georgia highway.
Authorities said the crash happened in Habersham County when Avonlea Holtzclaw was trying to cross U.S. 23 in a Ford Explorer and a driver going northbound in a Chevrolet Corvette hit her.
Avonlea Holtzclaw, Neil Holtzclaw’s wife, died in the wreck with their two children.
Mitchell Boggs, a 58-year-old man who was driving the Corvette, also died, along with an unnamed passenger.
Both vehicles caught fire, and all the occupants of the vehicles died before they could be taken to a hospital, according to reports.
“Deputy Holtzclaw and his family members have been doing their best to grapple with their devastating loss,” the Hall County Sheriff’s Office shared. “He’s had to make decisions he never expected to make, including planning for funeral services.”
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office shared a fundraiser set up by Georgia Law Enforcement, a nonprofit, on behalf of the Holtzclaw family.
“We do not take a percentage of the donations and they will go directly to Deputy Holtzclaw,” a spokesperson for the nonprofit said.
According to the organization, the Corvette that hit the deputy’s family was traveling at speeds over 150 mph.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch added, “What can you say when someone loses his entire family? There are no words that can adequately express the heartbreak the Holtzclaw family is experiencing right now.”
Georgia authorities thanked the community already for the outpouring of support and said they will continue to work to support the Holtzclaw family.