In the early morning hours on August 10, 2011 in Oconee County, Georgia, U.S. Highway 441 was shut down after two people were injured in a motor vehicle wreck. The collision involved a concrete truck, a SUV, and a tractor-trailer.
The crash occurred on U.S. 441, south of Tappan Spur Road and the Morgan County line. The area remained closed for several hours as the first responders cleared the roadway.
Lt. Paul Cosper, spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol said the crash appeared to be caused by a mechanical failure when the front left tire came off the 2005 Freightliner heading southbound. The tractor trailer sideswiped a Mack 600 truck carrying dry concrete headed northbound and also struck a Buick Enclave.
A woman from Madison was driving the SUV and sustained injuries as a result of the crash. The concrete truck rolled several times and the driver, a man from Warner Robins sustained critical injuries. Emergency personnel transported the concrete truck driver to Athens Regional Medical Center, troopers said.
Chief Weems of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department made sure that all drivers driving that route would be advised of the traffic delays and informed which routes to take. Other drivers on the road expressed their gratitude to Chief Weems and his department for the service they provided to the general public including sending alerts via text messages. Text messages are used by many public safety departments to alert drivers about safety hazards on the roadways.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, one out of nine traffic fatalities in 2010 resulted from a collision involving a large truck or semi. Last year in the United States alone, 380,000 large trucks were involved in crashes and 4,229 people died along with 90,000 people who were injured as a result of the trucking crash.