Truck driver cited after trailer of overturned rig strikes three vehicles

TALLULAH FALLS — Two people were hurt when a tractor-trailer overturned, colliding with three other vehicles on Ga. 15/U.S. 441 in Tallulah Falls about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The wreck, located between the two ends of Main Street in Tallulah Falls, shut down traffic on Ga. 15/U.S. 441 in both directions for some four hours.

Trooper Brady Galloway of Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa provided preliminary details of the wreck from the scene.

“Vehicle 1, which was the tractor-trailer, was going southbound on Ga. 15 [U.S. 441] in the left lane,” Galloway said. “Down there at the curve, right at the bridge, he came too fast and failed to maintain his lane. His trailer got sideways into the northbound lanes. It was about to tip over, but it was going sideways as his truck still was going straight.”

The wreck happened in the curve just south of the northern end of Main Street.

“A white Ford F-150 pickup got hit by the trailer; that [truck] was going northbound in the right lane,” Galloway said. “It slammed him up against the guardrail over there.”

Two other vehicles got hit on the left side as the trailer tipped over and came to final rest.

“Two people out of the F-150 were transported” for treatment of injuries, Galloway said. “I don’t know the extent on injuries.”

One vehicle that was struck was a Toyota Highlander SUV from North Carolina. That vehicle was pulling a trailer. There were no injuries in the Highlander.

A Toyota Camry from Elbert County also was struck, but no one in that vehicle was hurt.

“I charged the [truck] driver with failure to maintain lane,” Galloway said. “That’s all the charges from my end so far.”

The Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division also is conducting an investigation.

Tallulah Falls Police Department, Tallulah Falls Fire and Rescue and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office diverted conventional vehicles onto Main Street while the highway was closed. Tractor-trailer trucks were held and released periodically when safe.

Galloway said names of those involved and more details will be released later.

Towing personnel work to recover the Toyota Highlander and trailer from against the container on the overturned tractor-trailer on Ga. 15 in Tallulah Falls.

A white Ford F-150 pickup truck rests against the northbound guardrail of Ga. 15 after being pushed there by the trailer of a southbound tractor-trailer truck. Two occupants from the pickup truck were taken for treatment of injuries.

A southbound tractor-trailer truck blocks most of Ga. 15 after overturning and striking three northbound vehicles, injuring two people Tuesday night.

Personnel from three towing companies work to recover the container off the overturned tractor-trailer in Tallulah Falls Tuesday night.

Heavy wreckers from Webbs' Services in Cornelia lift the container as a tractor-trailer from Hulsey's Towing in Baldwin prepares to remove it from the wreck site.

Georgia Department of Transportation maintenance personnel wait to evaluate roadway damage following removal of the container from the overturned tractor-trailer in Tallulah Falls.

Tallulah Falls police and fire personnel, along with the Georgia State Patrol and other responders, evaluate the wreck scene on Ga. 15/U.S. 441 in Tallulah Falls Tuesday night.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/7/558326/truck-driver-cited-after-trailer-overturns-and-strikes-three-vehicles