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Hwy. 74 crash kills Pike woman

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

A Zebulon woman was killed and another Pike County resident was seriously injured in a head-on collision on Ga. Highway 74 South in Peachtree City early Monday morning.

Peachtree City police responded at 6:20 a.m to the two-vehicle accident that occurred near the entrance of the Peachtree City Baseball Soccer Complex and found 48-year-old Johnnie Ruth Lucas unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The other driver, Benjamin Robert Maxedon, 57, of Zebulon was seriously hurt in the accident that occurred in the northbound lane on Hwy. 74. Maxedon was life-flighted to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment.

Just minutes before the crash, Lucas was traveling northbound on Hwy. 74. Maxedon was traveling southbound on Hwy. 74, police said.

“According to the report, she strayed into the southbound lane and then corrected or moved back over at the last minute,” Maj. Mike Dupree said. “In the meantime, he saw her coming and he proceeded into the northbound lane to avoid a head-on collision. Just as she came back into the northbound lane they collided.”

It’s unclear if Lucas fell asleep at the wheel and then woke up and tried to avoid the crash, authorities said. The incident remains under investigation by the Peachtree City Police Department’s Collision Reconstruction Team.