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Accident blocks both lanes of I-75 in Cook Co.

By Cade Fowler - bio | email

SPARKS, GA (WALB) – A chain reaction crash in Cook County backed traffic up nearly four miles in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75 Friday morning.

Law enforcement officials said around 4:20 a northbound semi slammed into the back of a tractor trailer that had slowed in right lane near exit 42. Just moments later, the semi was struck from behind by a pickup truck. A car then collided with the pickup.

Cook County Sheriff's deputies and Adel Police officers were first on the scene and had to extricate the driver of the second semi after it caught fire.

The driver was rushed to Tift Regional Hospital with serious injuries. None of the other accident victims, we're told, were hurt.

Much of the right side of the Canadian rig's cab broke off when it crashed into the trailer filled with car batteries. 

Law enforcement officials tell us the accident happened shortly after GDOT crews re-opened the northbound lanes of I-75. Traffic had been shifted while crews re-striped a stretch of the road.

For nearly three hours, Friday morning rush hour traffic was at a stand still. Around 8:00 one lane of the interstate re-opened after crews removed the wreckage and cleaned up diesel fuel that spilled onto the asphalt.

Traffic was detoured at exits 39 and 41 but some motorists said their morning commute, which normally take around 30 minutes, turned into a 2 hours wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Charges were pending Friday morning while Georgia State Troopers continued its investigation.

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