Martinez UGA student in wreck

ATHENS, Ga. -- A 22-year-old University of Georgia student from Columbia County was trapped in the wreckage of his sport utility vehicle for nearly 90 minutes Monday after he ran off U.S. Highway 78 and hit a tree in eastern Oglethorpe County.

The crash closed the highway from about 4:45 until 7 p.m. while EMS crews cut Peyton Marsh, of Martinez, from the wreckage and a helicopter flew from Augusta to take him to the Medical College of Georgia Hospital, said EMS Director James Mathews.

Marsh was driving toward Athens, ran off the side of the road about five miles east of Lexington and crashed into a pine tree, Mathews said. A car heading east from Athens had to take evasive action, said Trooper Patrick Brantley of the Georgia State Patrol's Washington post.

Marsh will face traffic charges, including failure to maintain his lane, Brantley said. He was in fair condition Tuesday at MCG Hospital.

Paramedics examined a pregnant woman who was heading to a doctor's appointment in Athens and got stopped in traffic, and authorities routed her around the traffic jam on back roads, Mathews and Brantley said.