Locust Grove woman seriously injured in Milledge Avenue wreck in Athens

A Henry County woman remained hospitalized in serious condition on Monday following a one-car wreck early Sunday on South Milledge Avenue.

The 2024 Honda Civic wrecked at about 2:30 a.m. at the Milledge Heights intersection, according to Athens-Clarke police.

An ambulance transported the passenger, Makiyah De Sumner, 20, of Locust Grove to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center.

Sumner underwent several surgical procedures for serious back injuries, according to her mother, Ashley Parker, who was by her daughter’s side at the hospital along with her father Wayne Parker.

“It is bad,” Parker said Monday afternoon about her daughter's injuries.

When an officer arrived on scene, he reported seeing an “extremely damaged” car with the air bags deployed, while he observed the female passenger on the ground “screaming in agony” and it appeared she couldn’t move.

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The driver was identified as a 19-year-old Covington man. Police said he admitted to drinking a single beer, but later said he drank four, according to the report. He was placed under arrest after he declined medical treatment.

The suspect, who also admitted using a THC vape cartridge earlier in the evening, was charged with felony serious injury by motor vehicle, along with driving under the influence of multiple substances, reckless driving, failing to maintain a lane, traveling too fast for conditions and failing to wear a seatbelt.

Police said evidence shows that Sumner was wearing a seatbelt. Other details of the wreck were not available.

The suspect would not provide a blood test so the officer reported he went to a magistrate’s judge and obtained a warrant to have his blood taken at a hospital. He remained in the Athens-Clarke County Jail on Monday afternoon without bond on the felony charge.