A Greenville, S.C. truck driver is facing a second-degree vehicular manslaughter charge in a horrific, fatal accident earlier this month on I-85 in Gwinnett County.
Thomas Caldwell, 67, also was charged with making an unsafe lane change in the July 8 accident, Gwinnett police said Friday.
Caldwell’s tractor-trailer was traveling south on I-85 near Steve Reynolds Boulevard when he changed lanes, forcing a Nissan Pathfinder, carrying four family members, out of its lane and into another truck, police said.
The Pathfinder left the road, struck a steep hill between I-85 and the Steve Reynolds ramp and flipped over several times before coming to rest on the ramp, investigators said.
A front-seat passenger, Rabia Adnan, 32, of Duluth, was thrown from the Nissan and later died. Her two children, ages 7 and 4, were taken to the hospital but later released to their father, who was the driver.
Caldwell did not stop, but police did not charge him with hit-and-run, police said.
A police spokesman said Friday that, while investigators concluded that Caldwell caused the accident by making an unsafe lane change, they found no evidence that his tractor-trailer struck the Nissan Pathfinder.
Caldwell turned himself in Thursday and has been released on bond.
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