GSP releases details of fatal crash
Published 5:23 pm Friday, July 8, 2022
MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Georgia State Patrol report released Friday identifies the victim in a fatal accident that took place almost a week earlier.
The deceased, Paul Francis Heatherman, 75, was the driver of a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban that struck a bus on Veterans Parkway at Rowland Drive July 2.
Salvador Ruiz Lopez, 40, was driving the bus, which was owned by MJ Harvesting LLC. He had 15 passengers. No one on the bus reported being hurt, the GSP report said.
The accident report said Heatherman was traveling south on Veterans Parkway as Lopez was attempting to turn left onto Veterans Parkway from Rowland Drive, according to the accident report.
Lopez was stopped at the red light on Rowland Drive, the GSP said. He told the trooper that when his light turned green, he entered the intersection. When he saw Heatherman’s SUV wasn’t stopping, he tried to speed up to avoid a collision, but the Suburban’s front struck the bus on the driver’s side.
After impact, both vehicles came to an uncontrolled final rest in the middle of the intersection.
The report said a video from a local business captured the crash and showed that the Chevrolet had a red light at the time it entered the intersection.