Fiery wreck closes I-75

By Malynda Fulton

May 15, 2008 11:06 pm

— VALDOSTA — Traffic was backed up for nearly seven hours on Interstate 75 Thursday morning after three commercial trucks were involved in an accident, leaving six people injured.
Georgia State Patrol troopers and EMS personnel were dispatched to the southbound side of I-75, just north of Exit 22, at approximately 4:14 a.m. Upon arrival, troopers discovered a Shoreline Transportation commercial truck, Leggett and Platt commercial truck and Fed Ex commercial truck crashed into one another.
Two occupants were found in each vehicle, all of whom were injured, Master Trooper Sibley Matchett reported. The Leggett and Platt truck driver and Fed Ex truck passenger were transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla. for treatment, while the remaining occupants were treated at South Georgia Medical Center.
According to Matchett, it appears that two accidents had occurred. Witness accounts revealed that the Shoreline truck, driven by Marvin Thomas, had just exited the ramp of a truck stop and began to gain momentum when the truck was rear-ended by the Leggett and Platt truck, driven by Dennis Hector. Shortly after, the Fed Ex truck, driven by Ceasar Vargas, crashed into the back of Hector’s vehicle.
While the Shoreline truck only received moderate damages during the accident, the other vehicles were completely destroyed. Troopers reported that the Fed Ex truck was also severely burned.
As troopers investigated the scene, traffic continued to back up, extending beyond the Frank’s Creek overpass. Members of the Georgia Department of Transportation diverted traffic from Exit 29 onto Highways 122 and 41 back to Exit 22 as other DOT workers cleaned up wreckage at the scene of the accident. The scene was cleared around 11 a.m. and the flow of traffic went back to normal.
Matchett said that charges are pending for Hector and Vargas. At press time, all of the vehicle occupants were still receiving medical treatment. Authorities had not been given an update on the occupants’ conditions.

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