When big rigs collide, the result can often be a fiery crash that leaves drivers dead and seriously injured. Tragically, this was the case in an I-75 truck wreck in Lowndes County in Georgia over the summer.
A tractor-trailer driver who was injured in the wreck later succumbed to his injuries, reported Valdosta Today.
On June 23, at around 6:29 p.m., a state trooper was investigating a crash involving a 2004 Volvo VNL tractor-trailer driven by 50-year-old Walid Omar of Orlando in Florida.
The rig hit a guardrail on I-75 N/B at mile marker 2. The crash pushed out a portion of the guardrail which became an obstacle in the left southbound travel lane.
Valdosta Today reported that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office shut down the left southbound lane and diverted traffic into the right two lanes.
I-75 truck wreck leaves driver dead
Investigators said Ivan Moreira of St. Petersburg in Florida, a driver for ABL Transport Express Inc., rear-ended a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia tractor-trailer driven by 64-year-old Franklin Redding of Adel in Georgia.
Moreira’s truck kept heading southbound and jackknifed. He then rear-ended a 2006 Kenworth T600 tractor-trailer driven by Dana Moore, 34 of Crawfordsville in Arkansas.
The accident also involved a 2009 Volvo tractor-trailer driven by 47-year-old Jose Garcia Montes of Pinellas Park in Florida. He took action to avert a crash and swerved off the west shoulder of the interstate, ending up in a ditch.
Shortly after the crashes, Mr. Moreira’s truck exploded. He sustained severe burns to his body before he could be rescued and airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville in Florida. He later died of his injuries.
None of the other truck drivers were injured in the multi-truck wreck.
Trucking accidents can be truly devastating to the truckers and other motorists who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Earlier this year, a big rig was involved in an eight-vehicle crash in Lawrenceville that killed one and injured 17, we noted in our blog.
Often fiery crashes involving big rigs are exacerbated due to the size of the vehicles and the forces that are involved. Accidents involving tanker trucks can be particularly deadly.
If you or a loved one has been harmed in a wreck involving a big rig in Georgia, it’s important to recover as much as you can for serious injuries. Contact the Law Office of Michael West here.