The driver of a tractor-trailer has been charged for allegedly causing a Barrow County crash that killed a 29-year-old man.
Roger Bly, 40, from Murfreesboro, Tenn., was charged with homicide by vehicle in the second degree and following too closely, both misdemeanors, in a multi-vehicle wreck on Ga. 316, the Georgia State Patrol said today. Cody Grayson Brantley, of Winder, died at the scene.
At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, a Dodge 3500 pulling a trailer, a 1989 red Dodge Ram 50 pickup, and a tractor-trailer were traveling westbound on Ga. 316 in the right lane when the three vehicles approached a mower, according to investigators.
“A mower was traveling westbound in the same location, straddling the right lane and the shoulder,” the GSP said.
Investigators believe the Dodge 3500 came to a stop because the driver was unable to pass the mower, and the driver of the pickup slowed as it approached the rear of the Dodge 3500. The tractor-trailer then struck the rear of the pickup, causing its front end to strike the Dodge 3500, the GSP said. The trailer of the tractor-trailer and the pickup truck overturned.
The crash killed Brantley and injured the driver of the Dodge 3500, identified today as Richard Shane Moore, 44, of Athens, the GSP said. Moore was injured and transported to Athens Regional Medical Center. His condition was not released.
Bly was arrested and booked Wednesday into the Barrow County jail, where he remained today. His bond has not yet been set, jail records showed.
The wreck was the first of two that closed Ga. 316 in the area of Patrick Mill Road in both directions for several hours Wednesday, according to police.
The westbound lanes of Ga. 316 were closed from Highway 81 to Patrick Mill Road, and the eastbound lanes of Ga. 316 were closed at Patrick Mill Road for several hours Wednesday. Traffic backups were reported on side streets as drivers sought alternative routes.
While investigators were at the first wreck, a second wreck happened in the eastbound lanes of Ga. 316, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said. No additional information about the second wreck was available late Wednesday.
Eastbound lanes of Ga. 316 re-opened around 8 p.m. Wednesday, but the westbound side remained closed until around 11 p.m. while crews removed debris from the highway.
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