Rainy weather leads to several accidents
By JOHN A. WINTERSjohn@newnan.com
Monday was not a good time to be driving in Coweta County, with a minor school bus accident and also three wrecks on Interstate 85 all occurring within a few minutes of each other.
At the same time, emergency responders were dealing with seven downed trees and two downed power lines throughout the county, as well as yet another interstate wreck that occurred early Tuesday.
“We were just all over the county,” said Mitch Coggin, assistant fire chief with the Coweta County Fire Department. “It was a busy twenty-four hour shift.”
The bus accident was described as a fender-bender involving a Coweta County School System special education bus on Bullsboro Drive around 4 p.m. There were no students on board at the time.
On the interstate, three accidents occurred almost at the same time, according to Lt. John LaChance with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. In one single-vehicle wreck, a car rolled on its side, but the driver was able to get out. In another, a four-car accident was blamed on a suspected drunk driver.
The Georgia State Patrol also worked wrecks, including a couple along the Lower Fayetteville Road corridor Monday morning, authorities said. And another two wrecks occurred at almost the same time on Georgia Highway 34, one at Baker Road and the other at Ruth Drive.
“A lot of times people will say, ‘but I wasn’t speeding,’” LaChance said.
“But you have to slow down for conditions. If it starts raining and you put on your wipers and flashers, that’s doesn’t mean you should keep driving at seventy miles per hour even if that’s what’s posted.
“Slow down to a safe speed, and if you are uncomfortable in a big storm, just get off the road and let it pass,” he added.
