Six Dead in Tragic Georgia Wrong-Way Crash in liberty County, Georgia
LIBERTY COUNTY, GA- Ajc.com writes that three people died in a wrong-way crash over the weekend on Interstate 85 in Liberty County. The collision occurred in the early morning when a Lexus was driving against the flow of traffic in the northbound lanes.*
Police received reports of the wrong-way vehicle prior to the collision and were en route to the area when the horrific wreck occurred. The Lexus and an SUV collided close to Exit 76. No one traveling in either of the vehicles survived the collision.
The person driving the 2017 Lexus was identified as a 77-year-old man from Florida. He was the only person in his vehicle at the time of the crash. There were five people in the 2012 Nissan Rogue, including the driver, a 41-year-old woman, a 37-year-old man, and three children ranging in age from about four to fourteen, although their ages were not confirmed. All five of the victims in the SUV were from Portsmouth, Virginia.
The images from the scene show the Lexus with damage on its front end, and the Nissan completely mangled. The two vehicles appear to have struck directly head-on. Following the tragic crash, the northbound lanes were shut down for over three hours while crews worked at the scene.
Wrong-way collisions kill about 300 to 400 people in the United States every year. These collisions tend to be head-on impacts that take place at high speeds because the term “wrong-way” is used to describe crashes with cars traveling against the flow of traffic on a divided highway. Most drivers will not make such a drastic error because roads are marked very clearly to prevent such errors.
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Sources:https://www.ajc.com/news/killed-wrong-way-crash-georgia-interstate/TPyLVKbnbnx4PSnqXOfWkN/amp.html and https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/23/georgia-crash-wrong-way-driver-killed-interstate-95/4852255002/ and https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/wwd/