The southbound lanes of I-75 in Bartow County reopened overnight following a fiery fatal wreck Sunday afternoon that shut down the interstate near Cartersville for nearly 10 hours.
The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Sunday near Mile Marker 291 in southern Bartow County.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the driver of a northbound Ford F350 pickup truck crossed the median and slammed head-on into a southbound tractor-trailer.
Both vehicles then caught fire, a State Patrol spokesman said.
The driver of the pickup, 54-year-old Scott Thurmond of Kennesaw, died in the crash.
Raymond Thomas, 45-, the Indiana tractor-trailer driver, suffered burns to his upper body.
Thomas was hauling plastic bags. His truck caught fire and burned until early Monday morning as firefighters were forced to let the blaze burned itself out.
“Because we don't have the water supply here on the interstate,” Bartow fire Battalion Chief David Levey told Channel 2 Action News. “Also if we put water on [the fire] it's going to cause runoff and that runoff could go to waterways and become toxic."
Southbound traffic on the heavily-traveled interstate backed up about 16 miles as authorities routed motorists off the highway and onto U.S. 41 through downtown Cartersville.
Motorists were stuck in the backup for hours, with some reporting that it took an hour to drive one mile.
The interstate was finally reopened around 1 a.m. Monday.
About the Author
