A long-time and well-known Peachtree City tennis pro died early Saturday morning in an auto crash on Ga. Highway 16 in Spalding County south of Brooks, police said.

Elizabeth Choate Wortmann, 35, died after her 1995 Volvo was struck by an SUV that crossed the center line of the highway, according to the preliminary accident report filed by the Georgia State Patrol.

Wortmann’s car, traveling east on the highway, was struck in the driver’s side by the front of a 2000 GMC Yukon driven in the opposite direction by Tommy Earl Beam, 32, of Auburn, Ala.

Beam was not severely injured in the crash, which sent Wortmann’s car off the road, police said. She was wearing a seatbelt and her car’s air bags deployed, the report indicated.

Moments before the crash, Beam’s vehicle had gone off the right-hand shoulder of the road, the report stated.

Wortmann is survived by her husband David and two children, Matelyn Pate, 4, and Luke Choate, 2. She had worked as a tennis pro in Peachtree City for 12 years including time at the city’s tennis center.

Wortmann was in fact on her way to a tennis tournament at the time of the crash, her husband said.

A scholarship fund has been established in Wortmann’s memory. Checks may be sent to the “Beth Choate Wortmann Memorial Fund” at the Delta Community Credit Union, 472 Crosstown Drive, Peachtree City.

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