Truck Driver Charged in Atlanta Bridge Collapse Accident

June 29th, 2011 |

ATLANTA, GA – Last Tuesday Bolton Rd. in Atlanta GA, was shut down after a truck driver who was driving a Community Waste Services of Georgia garbage truck hit a railroad overpass in Northwest Atlanta shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

Atlanta fire officials say two people were injured when a truck crashed into a railway bridge in northwest Atlanta. It happened at Bolton Road and Marietta Road just after 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 28. (Photo: Atlanta Fire Rescue Department)

Hours later a 20-foot stretch of concrete and metal came crashing down from the railroad overpass falling onto the road below it. Late Tuesday, officials said Bolton Road just west of Marietta Road would be closed at least 48 hours to make sure the area under the bridge is safe for traffic.

The driver of the garbage truck, Thomas Sealock, has been charged with carrying an unsecure load, failure to obey traffic device and collision with an object adjacent to the street. The “traffic device,” police said was a traffic sign regarding the bridge height. The truck driver’s employer, Community Waste Services (CWS), is a family-owned and operated recyling and waste collection business based in Alpharetta.

11Alive.com reports:

Even though Atlanta Fire officials said the truck’s cab was nearly half a foot below the bridge’s clearance level of 13 feet and 5 inches, a hydraulic lift on the back of the truck may have been too high. Impact on the side of the bridge suggests the lift was in a raised position when it collided with the concrete.

Sealock and one other person were trapped after the southwest side of the bridge’s railing broke off. It landed on the garbage truck’s cab. Capt. Jolyon Bundrige said Sealock was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with “moderate leg injuries.” He was said to be in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.

A woman, whose car was behind the truck and hit the truck, was rescued early on and taken to a local hospital. She was driving a Honda Accord with Carroll County license plates and was later identified as Elaine Bomar. The extent of her injuries was unknown.

Both city and CSX officials evaluated the bridge following the accident. CSX spokesman Craig Camuso said the rail portion of the bridge was structurally sound. The bridge has two tracks, so trains could still travel along the Northeast side of the bridge, which still has a railing. Repairs to the opposite side of the bridge were underway.

Comments:

Truck accident lawyers, Gordon, Elias and Seely, say that traveling down a highway with other drivers is sometimes challenging enough. You should not have to dodge rocks and other debris coming from a truck carrying too much of a load that is not secure. Sometimes that “falling debris” takes the form of larger items that can do significant damage to your car or crash through your windshield, seriously injuring you and others.

Preventing the contents of a trailer from falling out is many times not enough to stop accidents from happening. As the truck travels, the load shifts. If the center of gravity is off by even a small amount, that truck could tip over and land on the car next to them. That driver and those passengers face serious injury and death. It could easily be you and your family dealing with that hazard.

Georgia cities besides Atlanta with a high incident of 18 wheeler truck accidents and vehicle collisions resulting in severe personal injuries and even death include Brunswick, Columbus, Gainseville, Johns Creek and Macon to name a few.

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Truck Driver Charged in Atlanta Bridge Collapse Accident