Seventeen people lost their lives on Georgia highways during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period which began Wednesday and ran through Sunday evening. Of those, four were from Coffee County.
On Thanksgiving Day, 22-year-old Nicole Torpea was killed as the result of a head-on collision that occurred in Candler County.
Torpea, along with another occupant of the vehicle, 26-year-old Brian Keith Davis II of Baxley, lost her life in the accident which took place on Ga. Hwy. 121 near Metter.
Friday morning, Nov. 28, three elderly Coffee County citizens were all killed near the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 268 and Ga. Hwy. 206.
Mary Merritt, along with her husband, Roy, and sister, Annie Lou Pittman, were traveling east on Hwy. 268 in a Cadillac DeVille. According to authorities, the Cadillac failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection of and was struck by a box truck driven by Lance Seymour.
Authorities say Seymour swerved and attempted to avoid the collision, but still struck the vehicle on the right side. All occupants of the Cadillac were transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Officials say Roy Merritt was thrown from the vehicle and no one in the Cadillac was wearing a seat belt.