East Dublin Head-On Crash Today: Damarcus Tyrell Wimbush, Chelsea Elizabeth Wilson, and Teen Daughter Aliah Michelle Smith Killed; Two Other Children Injured
East Dublin Head-On Crash: Damarcus Tyrell Wimbush, Chelsea Elizabeth Wilson, and Teen Daughter Aliah Michelle Smith Killed; Two Other Children Injured on Georgia Highway 29.
EAST DUBLIN, Ga. – A quiet stretch of Georgia Highway 29 South in Laurens County became the scene of a devastating tragedy late Sunday night, when a head-on collision claimed the lives of three people, including a mother and her 16-year-old daughter, and left two other children injured.
The Georgia State Patrol is leading an ongoing investigation into the two-vehicle wreck, which occurred at approximately 11:51 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, at the intersection of Georgia Highway 29 South and JW Warren Road in East Dublin. Authorities say the crash involved a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Damarcus Tyrell Wimbush, of Millen, Georgia, and a second vehicle driven by 35-year-old Chelsea Elizabeth Wilson, of Soperton.
By the time emergency responders had cleared the scene in the early hours of Monday morning, three lives had been lost, two families had been shattered, and a small community was left grappling with the sudden, violent nature of the accident.
The Fatal Collision: A Head-On Impact
According to preliminary findings from the Georgia State Patrol, Wimbush was traveling southbound on Georgia Highway 29 when, for reasons still under investigation, his vehicle crossed the center line and collided head-on with Wilson’s vehicle. The impact occurred at or near the intersection with JW Warren Road, a rural junction known for limited lighting and higher speeds.
The force of the crash was so severe that both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage. Debris was scattered across both lanes of the highway, and first responders arriving at the scene described the wreckage as “unsurvivable for those directly involved.”
Laurens County Deputy Coroner Nathan Stanley was called to the scene shortly after midnight. He later confirmed that Damarcus Tyrell Wimbush was pronounced dead at 1:00 a.m. Monday, before he could be transported to a hospital. His body remained at the scene for nearly an hour as investigators documented the wreckage.
Mother and Daughter Die Hours Apart at Fairview Park Hospital
Inside Wilson’s vehicle were her 16-year-old daughter, Aliah Michelle Smith, and two other children whose names and exact ages have not yet been publicly released by authorities, citing privacy and ongoing family notifications.
Emergency medical teams worked quickly to extricate Wilson, Smith, and the two younger children from the mangled vehicle. All four were initially transported to Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, a facility equipped to handle trauma but not at the level of a major metropolitan center.
Chelsea Elizabeth Wilson was pronounced dead at 1:12 a.m.—just 12 minutes after Wimbush was declared dead at the scene. Her daughter, Aliah Michelle Smith, fought for her life for over an hour and a half but succumbed to her injuries at 2:37 a.m.
Deputy Coroner Stanley confirmed that all three deaths—Wimbush, Wilson, and Smith—were caused by multiple blunt force trauma resulting directly from the crash. In a statement, he emphasized that none of the victims showed signs of prolonged suffering, likely losing consciousness immediately upon impact.
“It’s sad. A lot of lives changed in a split second,” Stanley told local media early Monday morning. “One moment you’re driving home, the next—everything is different. These were people with families, with futures.”
Two Other Children Injured: One Airlifted to Augusta
Of the two surviving children in Wilson’s vehicle, one was treated at Fairview Park Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. The other child sustained more serious injuries and was airlifted by medical helicopter to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia—approximately 90 miles east of East Dublin.
As of Monday evening, officials had not released the condition of the child airlifted to Augusta, nor any further details regarding their age, gender, or relationship to Wilson. However, sources close to the family have indicated that both surviving children are also Wilson’s, meaning the crash claimed the life of the mother and one daughter while leaving two other siblings injured.
The Georgia State Patrol has not confirmed whether any of the occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, though that information is expected to be part of the final investigative report.