Woman dies months after car-horse collision

A horse was in the middle of the southbound lane of the highway at 10:30 p.m. Aug. 1 near Meridian Park while Head was driving south toward Walnut Grove with her granddaughter in the car.

The vehicle hit the horse, killing the horse and injuring the person riding it.

Head went into cardiac arrest at the scene. She and the rider of the horse, 26-year-old Fernande Frenando Esparza of Loganville, were taken to Piedmont Walton Hospital.

The granddaughter was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston with non-life-threatening injuries.

A second collision was reported about 1/8 of a mile from the first when a driver apparently stopped due to the initial collision, prompting a chain reaction.

Robbie Schwartz, spokesman for the city of Loganville, said Esparza is believed to have left the state after his release from the hospital and he faces a warrant for reckless conduct related to the crash.

Schwartz said Loganville police will be consulting with the Walton County district attorney’s office in the coming days about how Head’s death will affect charges against Esparza.

Funeral services for Head will begin at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Loganville Chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Hill Haven Memory Gardens in Monroe.

Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, at 670 Tom Brewer Road.

Head is survived by her husband, Charles J. Head; four children; five stepchildren; 22 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.