Hall County sheriff’s Sgt. James Evans, 46, was traveling north on Hillcrest Lane near his home riding a late model Yamaha ATV Saturday when he collided head-on with a 2001 Honda Accord, said Georgia State Patrol Trooper Robert Land.

Evans and passenger Christopher Peck, 20, were flown by helicopter to Grady Hospital in Atlanta, where, after several hours of surgery, Evans succumbed to his injuries.

Peck, who is related to Evans, was in stable condition on Sunday afternoon, Land said.

Georgia State Patrol is investigating the wreck and has not yet determined what happened or who was at fault. The Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, or SCRT, is in the process of piecing together the events of the wreck, Land said.

The wreck occurred at about 5:21 p.m. on an unpaved portion of Hillcrest Lane just north of White Sulphur Road, Land said.

Land could not release the name of the driver of the Honda because the wreck is still under investigation. However, he did say the driver is a female Gainesville resident and survived the wreck with "a couple scratches."

Evans, who had been employed by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office for 24 years, will be greatly missed, said Hall County Sheriff’s Maj. Jeff Strickland.

"This is going to be a great loss," he said. "It was a sudden loss to the department. We not only lost a coworker, but he was a friend to all of us."