BUSY DAY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS
Emergency Officials were called to the scene of several accidents yesterday, (6-29-22) during the heavy down-pour of rain that moved through Clarke County. Many of them being along Interstate 59, however there was yet another light pole torn down on Highway 512, two accidents on Highway 45 and one other on Highway 18 West.
The first set of accidents came in as the rains moved through. There was a total of five (5) accidents on Interstate 59 between the 126 – 139-mile markers. While most, after hydroplaning, were able to get out of the ditch on their own, some required emergency medical assistance, traffic control and a tow truck.
Of the five accident scenes only two required medical attention, which one victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The most serious Interstate accident was the one located at the 129-mile marker at the Souinlovie Creek Bridge, where a vehicle left the interstate and struck the guardrail and concrete bridge wall. The vehicle and driver were from the State of Maryland, passing through when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
While traffic was slowed to one-lane and attending to the injuries involved, emergency crews were nearly struck by a passing vehicle who failed to slow down and nearly hit Scott’s Wrecker Service along with other first responders. The State Trooper who was also nearly hit, chased the vehicle down and issued the driver several citations.
In other accident news, yet another power pole was hit and destroyed on Highway 512 in the exact same place as most other accidents occur. This time, live power lines were down on top of the crashed vehicle as well as in the highway, causing traffic to be halted until repairs could be made.
Officials report no injuries in the Highway 512 accident, however that wasn’t the case for the 6th accident of the day.
At approx. 8:45 pm last night, (6-29-22) Emergency Officials was called to the 7th accident scene, which was a two-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 45 South at the intersection of County Road 260. Upon arrival it was noted that the driver was trapped inside the vehicle and in severe pain.
Rescue personnel was called to extricate the driver with the “jaws-of-life” after a vehicle failed to stop and ran through the intersection causing the two vehicles to collide.
Officials tell CCHT that two people from the same vehicle were loaded into Paratech Ambulance but only one was transported to a Meridian Hospital with moderate to severe injuries. However, Deputies and State Troopers say the driver of the black Toyota Tundra truck fled the scene and never returned.
One person tells us, “There was a very strong odor of alcohol presence coming from the Toyota truck and alcohol bottles inside”. The on-scene State Trooper was seen taking photographs of the alcohol for evidence from inside the vehicle as well as the cold containers that littered the ground next to the vehicle.
CCHT is told the driver who fled the scene which left two people injured, never retuned but has been later identified.
The 8th accident scene came just before 11:pm where a vehicle ran off Highway 18 West into a ditch near Highway 512. The driver was said to be uninjured as they stated, hit a deer and the damage was noted as minimal.
