An elderly Chattooga County woman was fatally injured in a two-vehicle accident at around noon Sunday.

The head-on collision took place on Highway 27 near the Federal Credit Union in Pennville and involved a passenger car driven by Vesta Grindstaff of Trion – and an SUV being driven by Billy Locklear of a Summerville address.

Locklear was carried to Floyd Medical Center for treatment of what appeared to be serious injuries.

Friends say Grindstaff had moved to north Georgia in the wake of the deadly tornado which struck Joplin, Missouri in 2011 and quickly became a well-known figure in the community – being involved in a wide variety of civic and church functions; she was also a member of the Summerville-Trion Rotary Club and Summerville-Trion Optimist Club.

Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader said the crash is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol.

(The Summerville News/www.thesummervillenews.com)