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Published Wednesday, April 01, 2009 in Local
Fiery crash caused when rig dropped off pavement in construction zone
The Newnan Times-Herald
Tuesday's fiery crash on Interstate 85 was caused when a tractor-trailer's wheels dropped off the side of the pavement in the right lane and the driver overcorrected, hitting a tanker truck and causing it to smash into the concrete barrier wall along the inside lane.
The impact ruptured the diesel fuel tanks and set them afire.
Solomon Marvin of Riverdale, who was driving a 2007 MAC, was charged with failure to maintain lane, said Sgt. Lance Greene, commander of Georgia State Patrol Newnan Post 24.
Solomon traveled about 250 feet on the shoulder before he brought the truck back into the lane, said Greene. In the area of the accident, the right lane is not bound by concrete barriers, and there is very little paved shoulder, Greene said.
The tanker, carrying plaster, was driven by Aaron Barber Jr. of Port Allen, La., Greene said.
Barber suffered a few burns to his arm, and Solomon has a few scrapes and bruises. Both were treated and released.
"They are very, very fortunate," said Greene.
Greene reiterated that there were no other vehicles involved in the accident. Initial reports said that a passenger car was involved, and two Northgate High School students said they saw another car.
"There was absolutely, positively not" another vehicle involved, Greene said.
"We had people saying there was a motorcycle hung up under it, a car hung up under it," Greene said. "We had even called the fatality squad."
He's not sure what people saw, but "it looked like a small plane crash," Greene said. "There were chunks of concrete flying everywhere."
Overcorrecting is a very common cause of accidents, though it is easy to avoid.
When you come off the road, "get off the brake, get off the gas, and just steer straight until you slow down enough to where you can come back on -- under control," Greene said.
Instead, "most people just panic and yank it."
When drivers make mistakes in the construction zones on I-85, "there is no room for error," Greene said.
Drivers should take extra care and obey the speed limit on the interstate, Greene said.
But the most important thing is not to tailgate -- leave plenty of space between your vehicle and the one in front.
"The number one contributing factor to accidents in Coweta County is following too closely," Greene said.
"If somebody makes a driving mistake in front of you and you're tailgating them, you just had a wreck. You don't have time to go 'oops,'" Greene said.
In light of all the recent accidents, many Cowetans have called for more traffic enforcement on the interstate.
But enforcing traffic laws on the section of I-85 between Palmetto and Bullsboro is tough.
"You can hardly stop anybody," Greene said -- because there is nowhere for them to stop.
"When we do patrol out there, whether it is speeding or tailgating or reckless driving, we have to wait until they get to an exit -- then you turn your blue lights on," Greene said.
Sometimes, he will drive up next to an offender and use his PA system to tell the driver to get off at the next exit.
If there is nowhere to pull over and the blue lights come on, "people will stop dead in the road," said Greene -- and that is extremely dangerous.
Coweta County Commissioner Randolph Collins discussed the hazards on I-85 with Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Ross and Coweta's DOT board member, Sam Wellborn, on Wednesday.
Ross and Wellborn were in town to discuss the Poplar Road interchange project. Collins presented the men with copies of The Times-Herald detailing various crashes on I-85 in March.
"You can't build the road without problems, and, of course, there is the issue of the wall -- it's all there for the safety of the construction workers," Collins said.
"The DOT is highly concerned about it and they are doing all they can, and the main thing is just to get done with it and everybody slow down," he added.
He said he hopes the DOT will keep the HERO response units in Coweta even after the construction is complete.
And that should not be too far off. Both legs of the project are well ahead of schedule, Collins said.
But more crashes are going to happen. "You put a 12-foot tractor-trailer in a 12-foot lane and something is bound to happen," said Collins, who is also a law enforcement officer.
"People have got to slow down and pay attention to what they are doing," Collins said.
"If you can use alternate routes, please do so," he said. The project has been painful, but "I think in the end we will have a fantastic project, a great road."
"What is happening out there is human error in a reduced travel lane. People have just got to slow down and prepare for something that could happen."
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I do know one day a small car had a tire seperate and there was no place for them to pull off with barriers on both side they kept driving for 3 miles and trashed their car and almost was hit.
Posted by Tom at 4:27 AM
I drive from the Palmetto exit to and from the Moreland exit everyday. It is all bad and the bad drivers don't make it any better. It is a fact that on both sides of the highway is gulleys where cars and big trucks have gone off into the dirt. I have been behind 2 trucks already that have done the same thing that caused this wreck. I was praying to God to let the truck in front of me get back on the road. The trailer was fish tailing all over the place. It is just too dangerous.
Posted by L at 8:56 PM
Facts: This could have all been avoided with proper planning. The DOT and County should be sued with every death such as Mrs Phosai's on Monday. These lanes are not safe and the DOT must act. How many more have to die?
Posted by Dyark at 7:17 PM
Not all the accidents and near misses are due to As you put it "self centered morons". My husband was forced to sit on the highway waiting to exit, due to the barriers. Thank God, the tractor trailer that came up on this was able to quickly change lanes. Which at that time of day is unheard of. Or, the poor man who lost his life because he had the misfortune of breaking down and had "NO WHERE TO GO". I know by experience that it is hard to know that someone is at a stop under some situations. So, if you or one of your family members ever has the misfortune to be forced to sit on the hwy, have a flat tire, break down or what ever the case may be... you are shown more compassion than you have exhibited.
Posted by Not a self centered moron. at 7:01 PM
I have lived in Coweta County for 3 1/2 years and the one thing that is definite is that Cowetans are the worse tailgators I have EVER seen!!!!!!!!!! Get off and back off!!!!!!!!
Posted by K.M. at 5:28 PM
I have driven from exit 51 or 56 to and from the north side of Atlanta for the past 15 years, 5-6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. I have seen it all, but this current situation is the worst. I'm surprised there haven't been more crashes and fatalities in the northbound "tunnel" section between 56 and 61. Poor driving accounts for a lot of this, but concrete barriers right on the travel lane edge, and barrels out in the lane, don't help. Also, a slow, panic-stricken driver is just as dangerous as a speedy, reckless one. Follow traffic, stay inside your lane, and don't change lanes unless absolutely necessary. So this nightmare is supposed to be over next November?
Posted by Commuter at 4:53 PM
The work on the Interstate in the Coweta County section is to be done by the end of November, In some sections of the work they are barely in the third phase of construction, the middle lane needs to be removed, excavated and then replaced...Then work on the outside lane to repair bad sections and finally the off ramps...If all of this finishes by the end of November I wonder why this other section took so long...
Posted by citizen at 2:33 PM
When me and my sister were teaching our children to drive, we took them out on a paved country road and at a slow pace, MADE our children drop the tires of the side of the road so they would know what if feels like and then we taught them how to ‘correctly’ get back onto the road – without yanking it and ‘over-correcting’. So many young people make this mistake. We also took them out on a dirt road and made them slam on the breaks so they would know what stopping on gravel feels like. Often gravel is washed onto a paced road and it’s like trying to walk on marbles.
Posted by Kathe at 1:54 PM
All I am hearing from most people is how the D.O.T. and officials are responsible for these accidents. What about the self centered morons driving. Most people driving these days act like the road is their personal domain and the rest of us need to get out of the way!!!! Use the brain that God gave you and some common sense to understand that the roads are not your personal driveway. It is no one else's fault the you are driving 80+ miles an hour in a (obviously -lanes closed - big walls blocking the workers from your car-missile) work zone. SLOW THE HECK DOWN!!!!! If you refuse to do that...take responsibility for the lives that you so selfishly put in jepardy because you are making the decision to drive like you are some race car driver. DO NOT put it off on the Police, D.O.T., or other official...they are not your mother and you ARE all grown up!!!!!!!
Posted by responsible at 1:35 PM
So basically what they are saying is that the walls will stay up and people will continue to die just so that the DOT can say that they have made a "great road." This is infuriating!
Posted by Irritated at 11:53 AM
This does not surprise me as a portion of this stretch there is exposed clay that comes up onto the interstate and makes that right lane very hazardous. Last week a personal truck hit this area went off the road and was fish taling from the right to the center lane but was able to keep his car upright. I was right behind him and because of a small opening in that center lane he did not hit anyone else. DOT needs to get some gravel down on that right side.
Posted by Peach at 11:23 AM
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I-85 Construction Zone Accidents
4/5/2009
Link To This Comment
How many more accidents, deaths, injuries and traffic back ups do we have to incurr on I-8/Palmetto Rd area before the DOT thinks about speeding up the construction time-line as they did when their construction through the City of Atlanta connector construction took place a year ago. Yes, as inconvenient as it was with total weekend lane closures, it took half the time and came in under budget to complete that process.
Posted by Teresa Reed at 1:15 PM