ABAC student killed in crash

Staff reports



GAINESVILLE -- An ABAC sophomore is dead an another in a coma after a wreck during the weekend in rural Hall county, according to troopers with the Georgia State Patrol, GSP.

Ryan David Wagner, 19, of Gainesville, Ga. died Saturday when the vehicle he was riding in ran off of Thompson Bridge Road and rolled several times.

Another student, James Lee Thigpen, who was also driving the vehicle, was airlifted to North Fulton Regional Hospital in Atlanta where he remains in critical condition.

According to accident reports filed by the GSP, Thigpen was driving north on Thompson Bridge Road in a 1992 Honda Accord when it ran off of the right shoulder of the road. Thigpen tried to compensate, hit an embankment, went airborne and hit a tree.

Wagner was not wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred and is believed to have been in the back seat of the car at the time of accident.

No charges have been made and according to the Gainesville Times. Investigators are unsure whether or not alcohol or drugs where a factor in the accident.

Funeral services for Wagner are scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Holly Springs Baptist Church in Gainesville.