Driver in I-16 crash cited for expired license, report shows
SOPERTON, Ga. - The driver of the dump truck that dislodged a span of an overpass along Interstate 16 was cited for driving on an expired commercial driver’s license, a Georgia State Patrol report states.
The crash forced the Georgia Department of Transportation to completely demolish the State Route 86 overpass in Treutlen County late last week. Traffic along the busy interstate that connects Macon to Savannah and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina was halted for two days but has since reopened.
According to the motor vehicle crash report, the driver was driving a Peterbilt 379 hauling a hopper dump trailer westbound along I-16 during the early morning hours of July 14. Around 1 a.m. the "dump function initiator malfunctioned" and "caused the hopper to elevate the bed into the dump position."
The trailer then struck the east side of the overpass, dislodging it about four to six feet, the report states. The trailer chassis separated from both the cab and hopper and ended up stopped patricianly in the emergency lane a short distance away.
After the initial impact, the cab continued forward, swerved into the median, through the cable barrier, and ended up stopping on the shoulder of the opposing lane of travel, the report states.
The 40-year-old driver was cited for not having a valid CDL.
(Georgia Department of Transportation)
He and his passenger, a 46-year-old woman, were both wearing their seatbelts and were not injured, the report states.
No other vehicles were involved.
No word yet on the effort to replace the overpass.
The crash was about 150 miles southeast of Atlanta.
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