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Wreck causes injuries, traffic delays on Cleveland Highway
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A two-vehicle wreck on Cleveland Highway injured a child and caused major traffic delays Monday night.

A 10-year-old boy was critically injured Monday and flown to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite after a two-vehicle wreck that shut down Cleveland Highway at Jess Helton Road in Gainesville, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

Authorities advised drivers to avoid the area after the crash was reported at 4:55 p.m., but Cleveland Highway was reopened by about 8 p.m., Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Chad Mann said.

A Ford Crown Victoria traveling in the left northbound lane of Cleveland Highway traveled across the left northbound lane while rounding a curve and its tires went onto the shoulder of the road, said Trooper Jonathan Munger of the patrol. The Ford then went back into the right northbound lane and began to rotate.

The Crown Vic spun into the southbound lane where it struck a southbound Subaru Impreza, then continued to rotate and struck the Impreza a second time before both vehicles came to rest, the patrol said.

The child who was flown to Atlanta is in critical but stable condition, Munger said.

Both drivers and a 10-year-old boy in the Impreza were transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. The driver of the Crown Vic, a 62-year-old man, suffered bruising to his abdomen from his seat belt along with right hip and lower back pain.

The other driver, a 47-year-old woman, had a possible broken left collarbone and right ankle, and cuts to her right knee. Her passenger in the right front seat, a 10-year-old boy, suffered upper extremity injuries.

Shattered glass and plastic littered the side of the street. Cleveland Highway was closed on the sides entering the collision area. A tow truck arrived shortly thereafter to clear the roadway.

Hall County Fire Services spokesman Scott Cagle said four ambulances were on the scene, in addition to the helicopter.

The crash remains under investigation by the patrol.