Truck driver arrested in crash that killed Locust Grove teen

As students at Locust Grove High School dealt Monday with the grief of losing a classmate, Henry County authorities announced the arrest of the tractor-trailer driver who allegedly caused the nine-car crash Saturday on I-75 that killed Summer Lee.

Daniel Crane of Jemez Springs, N.M., was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, following too closely and commercial vehicle hours of service violations, according to Henry police Sgt. Danny Gibbs.

A news release said neither drugs nor alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash, but the incident is still under investigation.

Lee’s car was struck in the back by the tractor-trailer, then pushed into five other cars, police said. Seven people were transported to Atlanta Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Gibbs said. The crash shut down the interstate for more than five hours.

Police told Channel 2 Action News that Crane was in violation of his commercial drivable hours when he caused the chain-reaction crash. He is being held at the Henry County jail on a $1,400 bond.

Lee, 18, was a senior at Locust Grove. A GoFundMe page was set up to help with her funeral expenses. It had raised more than $27,000 as of 9:15 p.m. Monday, with a goal of $30,000.