3 dead in multi-vehicle crash on I-75SB near Calhoun, drivers react
Reaction to fatal I-75SB crash
Drivers talk about fatal multi-vehicle crash that claimed 3 lives Tuesday morning on Interstate 75 southbound between Calhoun and Adairsville.
BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - A crash on Tuesday morning involving multiple vehicles, including tractor-trailers, on Interstate I-75 South at Mile Marker 308 has resulted in at least three deaths. Mile Marker 308 is located between Calhoun and Adairsville. All lanes of southbound I-75 were closed for several hours while police and emergency responders cleared the scene.
"It can happen to anybody at any time," said one motorist who was stuck in traffic for more than two hours. "You plan to leave the house one day and you might not make it back. It just really makes you think."
At 11 a.m., a FOX 5 Atlanta crew was able to report that lanes had begun to reopen and vehicles were starting to move past the scene.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., Georgia State Patrol released information about the crash.
According to GSP, a tractor-trailer traveling north on I-75 was involved in a collision with a Hyundai Sonata. After the impact, the Sonata traveled off the right shoulder of I-75 northbound and the tractor-trailer crossed the median into the southbound lanes and crashed into two other tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles – a Toyota Corolla and a Ford Ranger, which caught fire.
A total of 6 vehicles were involved. Three people died in the crash, 2 people were transported to area hospitals, and 2 others were not injured. At this time, the next of kin have not been notified. GSP will not release any names until that has been done.
GSP's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team will investigate the crash. At this time, it is unknown what caused the initial collision in the northbound lanes.
The fatal crash happened just days after another six-vehicle crash on the same stretch of I-75.
Update:
Two of the victims of the crash were identified on Wednesday by the Gordon County coroner as 50-year-old William West of LaFayette and 23-year-old Christopher Powell of Okeechobee, Florida. The third person has not been identified at this time.