Log truck loses load in Garden City, kills pedestrian
A Savannah man was fatally crushed Wednesday afternoon by several logs that rolled off an overturned trailer pulled by a speeding truck.
Garden City police were called to the intersection of U.S. 80 and Alfred Street about 1 p.m. Wednesday on reports of the payload from a log truck crushing a man who tried to cross the road on foot. Officers arrived to find the man - who remained unidentified Wednesday night - dead at the scene.
Investigators determined the truck was headed east on U.S. 80 at a high rate of speed and made a right turn onto Alfred. Meanwhile, the pedestrian tried to get out of the truck's path, said Garden City Police Chief David Lyons.
The truck itself made the turn, but its trailer detached and overturned, Lyons said.
"If the load hadn't shifted, he probably would have been able to get out of the way all right," he said. "But with the load shifting, he didn't make it."
The accident closed U.S. 80 until 4:45 p.m., said Garden City Sgt. Benji Selph.
The incident was a grim example of what can happen if something goes wrong with the several trucks carelessly crossing the intersection every day, said Patrick Patel, owner of Kwik Way Foods.
Patel said he heard the thunderous sound of metal and logs crashing to the ground while tending to customers Wednesday. His store is located at the same intersection where the crash occurred.
Although police have been seen aggressively enforcing traffic laws on U.S. 80, Patel said he has watched countless truck drivers disobey the law.
"They'll come down that hill and won't even stop," Patel said, pointing to a slope west of the intersection. "They'll honk their horn and think that's OK."
Garden City Police Cpl. Kyle Malin was called to the scene as one of two officers responsible for enforcing safety compliances on commercial vehicles. Malin said he found several major violations on the log truck, including a faulty fifth wheel - where the trailer attaches to the truck - and balding tires.
Investigators said the truck may have gone into the oncoming lanes of traffic. Also, the truck may have run a red light, Malin said.
The identity of the Vidalia, truck driver was withheld.
Malin said since launching a commercial vehicle safety campaign in July 2008 he has seen a decrease in the number of commercial vehicles shut down because of disrepair.
But the number of dangerous commercial vehicles still is high, he added.
"It comes to a point where you're not going to catch all of them - that's why we have the stringent enforcement we do," he said. "For every 10 we inspect, there another three or four that are not in working condition."
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - A log truck traveling eastbound on Highway 80 turned over and killed a pedestrian.
The log truck was turning right onto Alfred Street when the fifth wheel broke. The truck tipped onto its side, spilling its cargo onto the roadway.
At that moment, a pedestrian crossing the road was caught in the wreckage. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
We have a crew on the scene and will have more information as it becomes available.
U.S. 80 reopens after pedestrian fatality, Garden City police says
U.S. 80 between Chatham Parkway and Alfred Street is now open after a pedestrian was crushed by the payload of an overturned log truck, Garden City police officials said.
The pedestrian was in a crosswalk on Alfred about 1 p.m. when the truck turned left from U.S. 80, according to police. The truck's trailer became detached and a load of logs spilled onto the roadway, police said.
The load struck the man and a tractor trailer turning left onto U.S. 80 from Alfred Street, said Garden City Chief David Lyons.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We pretty much got the road shut down,” Lyons said. “It’s going to take a while to get this cleared up.”
The roadway reopened at 4:45 p.m., in time for rush hour.
Catch more details at savannahnow.com
Garden City police investigators found 24 safety violations on a log truck that lost its payload last week and fatally crushed a pedestrian.
The wreck happened about 1 p.m. Wednesday as Neal James Hamilton, 57, traversed a crosswalk on U.S. 80 at Alfred Street, according to Garden City police.
The eastbound truck, driven by Daniel Morris of Uvalda, Ga., swerved south as it neared the intersection, dislodging its trailer of logs. Hamilton, of Lansing, Mich., was unable to dodge the tumbling timber.
Garden City police Sgt. Benji Selph said after the accident investigators spotted a litany of safety breaches on the truck.
They included light violations, faulty brakes, balding tires and missing trailer axle parts. The fifth wheel - where the trailer was attached to the truck - had been welded together and snapped during the wreck, according to police. The logs, Selph added, were not strapped down adequately.
"He didn't have the right amount of straps for the amount" of logs, Selph said. The cargo weighed at least 60,000 pounds, police said.
Charges against Morris, 29, were pending Tuesday.
Garden City Police Chief David Lyons said the fatal wreck underscores the importance of the department's commercial vehicle unit, which inspects trucks and issues safety citations. He said inspections are aimed at ridding the roads of relics, not harassing truckers or collecting fines.
The log truck involved in last week's wreck, Lyons said, "is exactly the kind of truck we're looking for - trucks that are totally unsafe - and we stop trucks like that every day."
The police chief added: "Unfortunately, we didn't catch this one until it was too late."
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