A tour bus for members of a local gospel group collided with a pickup truck on Ga. 400 in Dawson County Wednesday morning and the truck's driver was critically injured.

Authorities said Meabon L. Sanner, 75, of Forsyth County, was driving south when he attempted to turn left across the northbound lanes of the highway at Chick-fil-A. The tour bus struck his Toyota Tacoma on its passenger side.

Rickey Gooch, road manager and sound technician for Dahlonega-based gospel trio Karen Peck and New River, was driving the group's tour bus when the collision occurred.

Sanner was unconscious and unresponsive when medical personnel arrived shortly after 10:30 a.m., according to emergency personnel.

He was airlifted with head injuries to North Fulton Hospital in "very critical condition," said Billy Thurmond, director of Dawson County Emergency Services.

The flight crew was en route to Atlanta Medical Center when Sanner's conditioned worsened and made an emergency stop at the hospital in North Fulton, Thurmond said.

A passenger on the tour bus, whose name was not released by authorities, was also injured in the wreck.

"She was taken by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with a dislocated hand," Thurmond said.

A note from Karen Peck on the official website for Karen Peck and New River listed Dawn Hughes as having broken her finger.

All lanes of the highway were closed for about an hour as crews cleared the wreckage. The roadway was reopened by noon.

The Georgia State Patrol is handling the investigation.

The Grammy-nominated group's website said Karen Peck and
New River performed in Branson, Mo., on Sunday and Monday.