The death of a 31-year-old Cleveland man in a single-vehicle wreck Friday night was the sixth fatality on Dawson County roads in 2009 and first since the spring.

The wreck happened about 10:30 p.m. on Harmony Church Road, near Lake Lanier and the Hall County line.

Authorities said Clinton "Clint" David Crawford died after he lost control of his 2006 Chevy Trailblazer and went down an embankment.

A spokeswoman for the Georgia State Patrol post in Cumming, which is handling the investigation, said Crawford went off the road twice before the SUV flipped and landed against a tree. He was traveling alone.

Dawson County Sheriff’s Lt. Tony Wooten said Sgt. Jenny Belafi was traveling west on Harmony Church Road when the eastbound SUV forced her and another vehicle off the road.

Belafi turned around in an attempt to stop the Trailblazer, but was not able to catch up before it went off the road, Wooten said.

The state patrol is investigating the wreck. It has not been determined if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

Dawson County had 10 auto accident deaths in 2008. The previous fatal wreck occurred in May.