A fatal rollover accident occurred late in the evening on Dec. 23 right near exit 194 of Interstate 20. That exit, which leads to GA-383, Belair Road and Dyson Parkway, is located in Grovetown, a city that lies just over 12 miles to the southwest of central Augusta.
Police officers first received reports of the Columbia County incident just after 11:50 p.m. that fateful evening. When they arrived on the crash scene, they found a vehicle flipped up on its roof along the left grassy median of the roadway.
Once that they determined that the victim was trapped in the vehicle, emergency crews worked feverishly to try to free him from the wreckage. They were unable to do so in time, however. By the time they were able to get to the 25-year-old resident of Gastonia, North Carolina, he’d already expired. His body was later transported to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab so an autopsy could be performed.
In speaking with witnesses at the crash scene, police officers were able to determine that an 18-year-old male motorist had been operating the vehicle just before the crash occurred. His female companion was riding alongside him in the passenger seat at the time. The decedent was seated in the rear of the car.
At some point, the 18-year-old driver apparently drifted off into the right lane of the roadway before attempting to regain control of his vehicle once again. As he did so, he overcorrected and crossed over two lanes of traffic before striking guardrails. The impact caused his car to roll over in the median.
Both the driver and his female passenger survived the crash, although they were also transported to an area hospital with undisclosed injuries. The police investigation into the crash continues. It’s unclear if the driver will face criminal charges for his role in the fatal accident.
Of the thousands of car crashes that occur in Georgia each year, only a small handful result in permanently disabling injuries or an individual’s wrongful death. In these more serious cases, you need to document how your injuries or the lost of a loved will impact you both now and in the months and years to come. You may be able to recover the compensation that you deserve by timely filing a claim for damages.