Lithia Springs Teen Dies on I-20

A 19-year-old from Lithia Springs survived flipping the sport-utility vehicle he was driving on Interstate 20 early Saturday, only to be killed moments later when another vehicle ran him over.

The accident came at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, when law enforcement officials across Georgia have begin trying to reduce fatal accidents amid summer vacation traffic through the 100 Days of Summer HEAT (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) program.

Erik Abarca was driving a maroon 1995 Chevrolet Blazer west on I-20 near Six Flags Drive in Austell when he apparently lost control and flipped the vehicle about 5:15 a.m., Cobb County police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said, based on witness reports and the initial investigation by the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Unit.

Abarca managed to get out of the overturned Blazer, which was still in the roadway, but his passenger, 21-year-old Luis Mares of Lithia Springs, was trapped inside, Pierce said.

While Abarca stood next to the SUV, a silver 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser came along and hit Abarca and the Blazer. The collision killed Abarca.

The driver of the PT Cruiser, 32-year-old Robert Martin of Winston, was taken to in Marietta with non-life-threatening injuries, Pierce said.

Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services Department personnel extricated Mares from the wreck, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta with critical injuries.

Investigators don't know why Abarca to lose control, Pierce said, and no charges have been filed against Martin.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information about it is asked to call 770-499-3987.