Motorcyclist Killed on Hwy. 400 Friday Identified

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The man killed in a motorcycle accident on Ga. Hwy. 400 near the new Dawsonville 400 circle Friday has been identified as Charles Arnold Painter, 48, of Hapeville, Ga.

According to the incident report, a Georgia State Police trooper from Post 37 in Cumming attempted to stop Painter for speeding near the Dawson Lumpkin county line but he fled south on Ga. Hwy. 400.

The report stated Painter’s  2006 Suzuki GSXR motorcycle was weaving in and out of traffic when it struck the left front corner of a 2014 Hyundai Sonata, overturned, careened into the median, struck a sign, broke into several pieces, and caught fire. Painter was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene.

The driver of the Hyundai was Melissa Dawn Litton, 36 of Gainesville. Also in the car was a one-year-old male who was in a rear-facing child restraint seat. Neither was injured.

Dawson County Sheriff’s Office deputies aided the Georgia State Patrol in attempting to stop the motorcycle but neither was involved in the crash.

Alcohol and drugs are not suspected at this time for either driver.

One northbound lane and one southbound lane of Ga. 400 was shut down for more than four hours.

The motorcycle did not have a tag and was not insured at the time of the crash.

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