Out-of-control dump truck kills grandpa and hospitalizes 11-year-old, Georgia cops say
A 63-year-old man was killed and five others were seriously injured when a dump truck lost control on a curve and crashed into an oncoming vehicle, Georgia troopers say.
It happened just before 1 p.m. on Friday, July 7, on State Route 17 in Hiawassee, according to Georgia State Patrol.
Investigators said the dump truck was heading north and preparing to round a curve when it “experienced a possible mechanical issue” and veered into the southbound lanes, troopers said in a preliminary report.
Jeremy Dalton, 41; his son Hinton, 11; cousin Gabe, 10; and father-in-law Mark Savage, 63, — all of Watkinsville — were heading home from a water park when their 2008 GMC Sierra was hit head-on, according to the family’s GoFundMe.
The out-of-control dump truck knocked the SUV onto the shoulder of the highway before hitting another vehicle, troopers said.
The dump truck continued to skid off the roadway and down an embankment where it landed upside down.
Savage, who was driving the GMC, died at the scene, according to state police.
Dalton was airlifted to a hospital in Gainesville while his son and the cousin were hospitalized at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, the family said on GoFundMe. Dalton was released and went to be with his son, who suffered a head injury.
Dalton’s wife, who was in a separate car with their daughter, gave an update on her son’s condition.
“He has a fever, they just gave Tylenol for that,” she said July 11 on Facebook, as relayed through a family member. “He has atelectasis in his lungs, but his oxygen saturation is currently 100% on the ventilator.”
The others, including the driver of the dump truck, were hospitalized with “serious to critical injuries,” troopers said.
Their conditions weren’t known as of July 11.
Hiawassee is 105 miles northeast of Atlanta, near the Georgia-North Carolina line.
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