JEFFERSON — A Norman Park man was one of five drivers involved in an accident that left one person dead and four others injured June 5 on Interstate 85 South.
According to the Gainesville Times, Don Johnson, 48, of Norman Park, was driving a tractor-trailer that was stopped for traffic about 3:20 a.m. June 5 on I-85 near the Dry Pond Road exit in Jefferson. His tractor-trailer was rear-ended by a Dodge Dakota truck, driven by Brandon Barner, 24, of Commerce, that ended a chain of collision.
The crash began when a Honda CR-V, driven by Robert McIlwain, 41, of Winder, was struck by a tractor-trailer, driven by Thomas Terry, 62, of Conyers, the Times reported. McIlwain was slowing down for traffic when the collision took place, and the CR-V entered the path of a second tractor-trailer then overturned. McIlwain later died of his injuries.
Terry’s tractor trailer rear-ended the Dakota before overturning into a median, according to the Times.The impact knocked the Dakota into Johnson’s rig.
Four people, including Terry, were taken to local hospitals with injuries, but it was not known if Johnson was among the injured.
The interstate was closed for several hours while Georgia State Patrol troopers investigated, and the Times said a cleanup crew was called because one of the tractor-trailers involved was carrying potassium hydroxide, which is considered hazardous. None of the chemical, however, spilled out of the trailer.
Charges are still pending in the collision.
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