Dash cam footage captures dramatic hit-and-run on I-85

Deputies searching for driver in hit-and-run

Coweta County sheriff’s deputies are investigating an accident after a driver knocked another man's car off the interstate.

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Deputies are investigating a hit-and-run accident that knocked a driver’s car off the interstate. 

They say a truck driver fled that scene without helping or even calling 911.

What we know:

Bill Eidson was heading home to Hogansville from Atlanta. He’d been at a corporate function when a semi-truck came up from behind and hit his car so hard that it sent him skidding off the highway. But that trucker kept going.

It was all captured on Eidson’s dash cam in his car. The sound is Eidson's radio playing music and then a loud crunch and the squealing of his tires as his car careens off the roadway. The video shows the complete sequence of events.

"It was scary," he said. "At first I thought I had had a blowout because all I heard was a boom and a big crash." He says he didn’t know until later that something had hit him and it was all recorded on his dash camera.

Eidson says his car, a 2017 Ford Fusion, is totaled. He was unhurt.

It happened on May 21, at around 9:15 p.m. Edison was traveling near the Collingsworth Road exit on Interstate 85.

An enhanced view of the rear-facing camera saw the cab of the truck, and it appeared there was no trailer. The blinker is on, suggesting the truck was changing lanes and the driver might not have seen Eidson’s car.

Coweta County sheriff’s deputies are working to identify the truck and driver. But they need the public's help. Despite the fact the accident was caught on camera, no view provides enough clarity to see identifying marks.

Luck was with Eidson though. He says he travels that road every day for work and the Georgia Department of Transportation had recently cleared trees on the I-85 shoulder at that exit. He might have gone head-on into a tree otherwise.

What they're saying:

And what about those dash cameras? Eidson says it's worth it.

"The dash cam immediately notified my wife that I had been in a wreck and sent her a text message with the location as well as a link to the live feed," he said. "So yes, you should get a dash cam."

What you can do:

If you have information that can help deputies identify the driver or that truck, call the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.