Published Monday, January 05, 2009

Two people killed on I-85 when car crosses median, hits oncoming van

The Times-Herald

Alcohol and failure to wear seat belts were contributing factors in the deaths of two people killed in a near head-on collision late Sunday night on I-85 northbound just south of Grantville, according to Sgt. Lance Greene of the Georgia State Patrol.

The deceased were listed as 22-year-old Brandon Mailman, of Columbus, and Christine Moore, 32, of Cumming, Ga. Neither were wearing seat belts, Greene said.

According to Greene, Mailman was driving a Honda Civic southbound on I-85. Just below exit 35, Mailman lost control and the Civic went across the median and into the northbound lane of I-85, striking a Ford Econoline Van registered to Groome Transportation of Columbus.

The impact was not fully head-on, but slightly off center, with the drivers’ side corners of each vehicle striking each other.

Mailman and Moore were both ejected from the Civic and killed instantly, Greene said. A passenger in the Civic, Michael Hodge, of Midland, Ga., was wearing a seat belt and was asleep in the back seat at the time of impact. Hodge walked away with minor injuries.

Greene said numerous open containers of alcohol were found in or near the Civic and cites alcohol as the primary factor in the wreck.

“Alcohol was definitely a factor,” Greene said. “And so was the failure to wear seat belts.”

The van was driven by Gaylen Pike, 44, of Columbus. Two passengers were aboard the van, which shuttles passengers from Columbus to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Greene said.

Pike had to be cut from the vehicle by emergency rescue equipment. The procedure took about 15 minutes, according to Greene. Once he was extracted from the vehicle, Pike was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center with what appeared to be serious injures.

The van’s two passengers, Linda Davis, 48, of Chicago and James Dillon, 18, of Fortson, Ga., were taken to Atlanta Medical by ground ambulance.

Greene said in all his years of service with the GSP, the damage to the Civic was in the “top 10 percent” of most heavily-damaged vehicles he had seen at a wreck site. But Greene said there was ample room in the driver and passengers compartment for the occupants to have survived had they been wearing seat belts.

“No doubt about it,” Greene said. “The vehicle was destroyed, but there was enough room in the front compartment for someone to live. It’s easy to talk in hindsight but I believe there’s a good chance that If those two had been buckled up, we’d be talking to them today.”

The incident was reported at 11:05 p.m. Sunday, according to Coweta County 911. Emergency units from Troup, Meriwether and Coweta Counties responded to the incident, which left I-85 traffic backed up in both directions for more than an hour.

“They all showed up and we needed every one of them, “Greene said.