Four people were killed and another person was injured in a car wreck early Sunday in Chattooga County. Three of those who died were Chattooga High School football players, and two of them were brothers.
(READ MORE: Four killed in Chattooga County crash identified)
Troopers from Post 38 Rome responded to a single-vehicle crash on state Route 114 in Chattooga County at 12:36 a.m., according to a statement from the Georgia State Patrol.
At the crash site, troopers found a 2019 Audi RS5 that had driven off the road while entering a curve heading west. Details of the wreck are preliminary, and the crash is still under investigation, the statement said.
"The vehicle left the roadway and began traveling on the grass shoulder, where it struck a private driveway," according to the statement from Lt. Michael Burns, Georgia State Patrol public information director.
The Audi rotated and overturned, Burns said, and finally stopped upright. The driver and two occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead on the scene by authorities, he said.
The vehicle's two other occupants were transported to Rome's Atrium Floyd Medical Center. A juvenile male was pronounced dead at the hospital, Burns said, while a female passenger is listed in critical condition.
Names of the accident victims were not released before deadline. Dan Bevils, a spokesman with Atrium Floyd, said in a phone interview he could not confirm the surviving victim's current condition without a name.
Representatives of the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office could not be reached before deadline.
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The Georgia State Patrol Troop A Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the wreck, according to the release.
On one of its social media pages, Chattooga High School said the Chattooga High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes will host a time for prayer and support at 7 p.m Monday at the school's football field. The field is at the school's campus: 989 state Route 114 in Summerville.
Chattooga County Schools Superintendent Jared Hosmer expressed his sympathy in an email Sunday.
"I received information overnight of an automobile accident that claimed the life of four people, three of which are Chattooga High School students," Hosmer said in a email. "Please be in prayer for the families of all that have been affected by this terrible tragedy."
Hosmer also said that if anyone in the school's community needs help, they should reach out to any school employee. In a follow-up email, he said school counselors will be available when school resumes Tuesday.
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Chattooga High School football coach Shawn Peek told the Chattanooga Times Free Press by phone that three of the deceased wreck victims were varsity football players: a freshman, a sophomore and a junior. The freshman and junior players were brothers, Peek said.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.
Staff writer Stephen Hargis contributed to this story.