As 21-year-old Agnes Yena Kim was driving back to the University of Georgia Wednesday night on a rural road in Oconee County, something apparently happened to cause the student to lose control of her car and become involved in a two-car collision that killed four of her schoolmates, according to an initial accident report released late Friday afternoon by the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
The report indicates Kim over-steered or over-corrected for an unknown reason, causing her car to rotate counter-clockwise and enter the oncoming lane where it was struck in the passenger side, according to the report.
Killed in the collision were UGA students Halle Grace Scott, Christina Devon Semeria, Brittany K. Feldman and Kayla Leigh Canedo. Everyone in Kim’s Toyota Camry was said in the report to have been wearing safety belts, except for Semeria, who was ejected.
Authorities have been unable to speak with Kim to find out what caused her to lose control of the car, as on Friday the student remained in a coma and in critical condition at Athens Regional Medical Center.
The driver of the other car, 27-year-old Abby Short of Demorest, “stated that as she traveled, (Kim’s car) slid sideways into her lane,” according to the accident report.
Though it was unknown how fast the cars were traveling, the speed limit at the crash site is 55 mph.
In a box in the Georgia State Patrol accident report, the initial investigating trooper indicated that alcohol use by Kim was not suspected. There is no explanation in the report how that conclusion was reached.
A detailed list of questions about the crash investigation was submitted by OnlineAthens.com/Athens Banner-Herald to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, none of which were answered.
“This is an open and on-going investigation by the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team,” the DPS responded. “SCRT investigations can take several weeks to several months to complete.”
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