VALDOSTA — Within an hour, three separate wrecks involving a total of seven vehicles and two people hospitalized occurred in a construction area on North Valdosta Road.

The first wreck happened about 7:30 a.m. at the intersection of Coleman Road and North Valdosta, said Cpl. Ryan Harding with Georgia State Patrol.

Harding said one vehicle was turning left on Coleman and was hit from the side by another vehicle. The impact flipped the first vehicle over. There were no major injuries, but the person in the flipped vehicle was taken to a local hospital.

Less than an hour later, near the same location as the first, three cars were involved in a fender bender. There were no serious injuries, but one driver was taken to a local hospital, Harding said.

He said the accident happened because one vehicle was following too close behind the car in front of it.

The last accident was a direct result of the first. 

Harding said a driver was distracted watching the clean up of the second accident and caused a third one. He said the accident happened at 8:30 a.m. in front of a GSP trooper responding to the second. 

Two vehicles were involved in this crash, and Harding said distracted driving caused the accident.

“There were no major injuries following these accidents, but the best thing to remind people is that if you are driving down the road and you see blue lights, please pay attention to the road,” Harding said. “Paying attention to anything other than the road dramatically increases your chances for a collision.”

North Valdosta Road is currently under construction, which Harding attributes to the rise in accidents to an already dangerous section of road.

He said the area has always been prone to accidents in the morning because of the heavy traffic heading into Valdosta, but with the construction underway, it has been even worse.

“Most of our collisions that happen in that area are caused by people traveling too closely to the vehicle in front of them,” Harding said. “Pay attention, drive slowly and keep away from unnecessary distractions.”

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256