Funeral On Friday For Woman Who Died Following Crash

WALESKA, GA -- Friends and family will say goodbye on Friday to the woman who died late last week following a two-vehicle accident in northern Cherokee County.

The funeral service for Sandra Elaine Potts, 37, will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 4 at Darby Funeral Home in Canton. The family will receive visitors from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3 at the funeral home. Burial will be held at the Pleasant Arbor Baptist Church Cemetery.

Potts, 37, died July 27 as a result of the injuries she sustained in the collision along Upper Bethany Road. The driver of the vehicle, Kenneth Michael Williams, also 37, has been charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree and vehicular homicide in the second degree, the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies with the sheriff's office were dispatched around 3:10 p.m. July 25 to the accident on Upper Bethany Road at Damascus Road. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. Or if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

A preliminary investigation reveals a white Ford Ranger driven by Williams, of Ellijay, failed to yield at an intersection and was hit by an oncoming black Chevrolet Silverado, the sheriff's office said. The Silverado traveled off the roadway into a ditch and overturned. The Ford Ranger also overturned and ejected passengers, Ellijay residents Robert Jett, 26, and Potts. Both passengers were not wearing seatbelts, said Sgt. Marianne Kelley.

Potts, who suffered serious injuries, was airlifted to the hospital while Jett was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The Chevrolet Silverado also had two other passengers in the truck. They were seat belted properly and were not injured, Kelley added.

Along with the vehicular homicide charges, Williams is also charged with DUI drugs, serious injury by motor vehicle, reckless driving, failing to stop at a stop sign, driving on a suspended license, driving with no insurance, no seatbelt and driving an unsafe vehicle.

According to her obituary, Potts is survived by her mother, Julie Ann (Richard) Gingell of Nixa, Missouri; father, Ricky Horace Potts of Waleska; sons, Austin Blake Potts of Waleska; Ethan Shellnutt of Waleska; daughters, Amber Daniell Williams of Ellijay and Marissa Payton Shellnutt of Waleska; sisters, Amy (Jeremy) Potts-King of Waleska, Tara Potts of Waleska and Amanda Prewitt of Forsyth, Missouri; and one grandchild, Braylin Cummings.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to help with funeral expenses, which can be made online.

Image via Darby Funeral Home