OAKWOOD — The Georgia State Patrol continues piecing together information in an early morning crash that killed an out-of-state truck driver on I-985 just south of Mundy Mill Road.
The truck driver was identified by GSP as Brian Steven Zegarzewski, 49, of Fletcher, NC.
In an email statement, the State Patrol said the fatal crash occurred at 5:41 a.m. Wednesday as Zegarzewski was traveling northbound in the left lane of the highway negotiating a right curve.
"The driver traveled into the median and struck the guardrail with the front bumper of the vehicle. The driver then swerved to the right and the vehicle began rotating clockwise onto I-985. The truck and its 48-foot trailer then overturned onto its left side in the right northbound lane," read the statement.
"The vehicle continued to travel northbound striking the guardrail and then an embankment. The tractor trailer then began rotating counterclockwise and struck the guardrail with its front bumper before coming to final rest on its left side."
The vehicle caught fire, according to Hall County Fire Services. Capt. Zachary Brackett said the tanker was 50-percent involved in flames when fire crews arrived at the scene around 6 a.m.
Brackett said the tanker was carrying a dry cement mix - a non-hazardous material. The fire was sparked by a fuel leak.
As the tanker slid across the northbound lanes of the interstate, it hit the Plainview Road bridge. The Georgia Department of Transportation sent two crews to the scene to make sure the bridge was structurally sound before allowing traffic to travel over and under the bridge.
The southbound lanes of I-985 were closed for the duration of morning rush hour on Wednesday; the northbound lanes of the interstate remained completely or partially closed for almost six hours.
