CLARKESVILLE — A wreck north of Clarkesville at 4:20 p.m. Monday knocked out power for many customers in the area, and blocked Ga. 197 for several hours.
Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa provided details of the wreck Tuesday morning.
At the time of the wreck, a 2004 Ford Light Conventional pickup truck driven by Dalton Alexander Mitcham, 20, of Tiger, was traveling north on Ga. 197. The driver told the investigating trooper he “blacked out at the wheel” and lost control of the vehicle.
The truck then traveled off the roadway on the right shoulder, striking a utility pole with its front end, breaking the pole in half, according to GSP.
Falling electrical wires then made contact with the top of the oncoming vehicle, a 2019 Freightliner M2 106 Medium owned by Riverside Asphalt Co. of Sugar Hill and driven by Dennis William Ryan, 48, of Lawrenceville, according to GSP.
The falling electrical wires caused damage to both the Freightliner and its trailer equipment, a motor grader, according to GSP.
Area of impact for both vehicles was on Ga. 197 in the area of Castle Rock Trail south of North Georgia Technical College.
Mitcham was transported by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries. He was charged by GSP with failure to maintain lane.
Ryan did not report any injuries, though he had to remain in the large truck until power crews could secure the downed electrical wires.
Repair work was completed, and the road returned to normal about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
