VALDOSTA – Two people died in unrelated traffic incidents Tuesday, raising the number to five fatalities from vehicle accidents since the New Year in Lowndes County.

The two Jan. 16 incidents marked five deaths since Jan. 11, said Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Chris Kelch.

Guy Carl Gaulke, 60, of Lake Park was killed in a two-vehicle collision on Loch Laurel Road in Lake Park, according to the GSP Post 31.

Allen Lane, 65, of Naylor died following a three-vehicle collision on Highway 84, according to GSP reports.

At 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, Gaulke was driving a Chevrolet Classic south on Loch Laurel Road near Sportsman’s Cove, according to the GSP. Laurie Ann McGuire, 45, of St. Augustine, Fla., was traveling north in a Cadillac SRX, according to GSP.

“Both vehicles were negotiating a curve and approaching each other from opposite directions,” Kelch said in a statement. “The Chevrolet crossed into the northbound lane. In an attempt to avoid the collision, Ms. McGuire swerved to the east shoulder. The Chevrolet struck the Cadillac in the driver’s side with the driver’s side of the Chevrolet. The Chevrolet then began to rotate clockwise and traveled off the west shoulder of the roadway into a ditch. The vehicle then overturned and struck a tree with the top of the Chevrolet. The Chevrolet separated from the tree and came to a final rest in the west ditch facing north.”

Gaulke suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to GSP reports.

McGuire and her three passengers were uninjured.

All motorists were using seatbelts; airbags deployed in the Chevrolet, according to the GSP. 

No charges are expected in the incident.

The road was closed until shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, Kelch said.

Earlier Tuesday, shortly before 10 a.m., Lane was traveling in a Nissan Altima west on Highway 84, also referred to as Ga. 38, according to the GSP. He was in the right lane behind a GMC C5500 truck driven by Guillermo Cardenas, 27, of Ray City, which was preparing to turn right into a private driveway.

Ava Latisha Hardee, 38, of Waycross was traveling in a Ford Taurus behind the Nissan, according to the GSP.

As the GMC began making its turn, the Nissan slowed down, according to the GSP.

“The Ford, which was following the Nissan too closely, struck the Nissan in the rear end with the front end of the Ford,” Kelch said. “The Nissan then struck the trailer in tow of the GMC. Both the Nissan and the Ford came to an uncontrolled rest in the westbound lanes of GA 38.”

Lane was extricated from the vehicle and transported by helicopter to Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries, according to the GSP reports.

Hardee was extricated from her vehicle and was taken to South Georgia Medical Center for injuries to her abdomen, according to the GSP.

Cardenas was uninjured, according to reports.

“All three occupants were properly restrained and airbags deployed in both the Nissan and Ford,” Kelch said. “Troopers do not suspect alcohol or drugs to be a contributing factor in this collision.”

The GSP Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is investigating the collision. Charges are pending upon completion of the investigation.

The Tuesday incidents come after three other fatal accidents in Lowndes County.

A 34-year-old Clinch County woman died Monday, Jan. 15, in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 94 at Boring Pond Road, according to a report by Georgia State Patrol Post 31.

A 25-year-old Camilla man was killed Saturday, Jan. 13, in a Lowndes County motorcycle accident on Bemiss Knights Academy Road near Hoye Lane, according to GSP reports.

A 62-year-old woman was killed in a single vehicle accident Jan. 11 on Rocky Ford Road, just south of Knights Ferry Road, according to the GSP.