Victim named in fatal I-75 crash

ASHBURN, GA (WALB) - A Florida man died after a crash on Interstate 75 in Ashburn, but Georgia State Troopers don't believe the crash caused his death. 38-year old Vondella Purast of Jasper, Florida, died after a tire blew out in the truck he was riding in.

The blowout caused the driver, 49-year old Iqbal Mohammad, to lose control and hit the cement barrier in the middle of the interstate near mile marker 84. Troopers say Purast had several health problems, and the blown tire may have aggravated his condition.

"Maybe the blowout woke the passenger up and during that time, around the same time he woke up, he had a--not sure if he had a heart attack or what happened--but he seemed to start having some health problems around the same time," said Trooper Russell Taunton of Post 30 in Cordele.

Authorities say the two men were delivering meat to Atlanta. Purast's body will be sent to the GBI crime lab in Macon to confirm the cause of death.

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