A Norcross woman is dead and a Forsyth County man is in intensive care and facing charges following a wreck Thursday morning in Gwinnett County.

Jacob Nicholson, 22, of Northeast Forsyth with a Gainesville address, was driving about 7:30 a.m. south on Singleton Road “at a high rate of speed,” according to Gwinnett County Police.

He swerved into oncoming traffic at Singleton Road’s intersection with Jimmy Carter Boulevard and hit six vehicles stopped at a traffic light on the other side of Singleton, which is South Norcross Tucker Road at that point, said Cpl. Edwin Ritter, public information officer with the Gwinnett Police.

Ritter said witnesses claimed Nicholson was traveling 85-95 mph.

“That could be consistent with the accident,” Ritter said. The speed limit on Singleton is 40 mph, he said.

“He crashed into the cars that were sitting stationary, and the impact caused him to get ejected from the vehicle,” Ritter said. “The vehicle rolled a couple time as well.”

Nicholson, who was driving a blue Honda Odyssey, was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center in critical condition.
Cynthia Thornton, 59, driving a tan Honda Accord, died at the scene due to injuries from the crash.

Stephen Merritt, 42, of Tucker was in a tan Buick Lacrosse and received minor injuries, for which he was taken to Gwinnett Medical. Four other drivers were involved but not injured.

Gwinnett Police said the primary investigator intended to obtain arrest warrants Friday for Nicholson. He faces charges of 1st degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, no seat belt and expired driver’s license.

Gwinnett Police are continuing to investigate the wreck and identify any other contributing factors.