The Georgia State Patrol is investigating a fatal accident in Hall County that saw a pedestrian struck by a trailer that had detached from its vehicle and overturned Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 1:10 p.m. on Ga. 369 (Browns Bridge Road) just east of Spainhill Road.
GSP Cpl. J.S. Munger said a westbound tractor-trailer was negotiating a curve on 369 when the driver, Section, Alabama resident J.W. Harper, apparently became ill. The vehicle began to drift off the right side of the roadway when the trailer, which Munger said was heavily weighted, began to overturn and separated from the cab.
Investigators later determined that 50-year-old Gainesville resident Kip Eugene Holland, who the driver reportedly did not see, had been walking on the right side of the roadway when the trailer began to overturn; Holland was struck by this debris, and was located by responding authorities at the rear end of the trailer.
Munger said the vehicle towing the trailer continued traveling westbound on 369 before eventually crossing into the eastbound lanes. The cab then left the roadway, struck a curb and entered the Mincey Marble parking lot, where it struck two unoccupied vehicles before coming to a stop.
Harper, an 80-year-old who later told authorities that he had begun choking and passed out behind the wheel, was found unconscious inside the vehicle.
Both individuals were transported from the scene to Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Holland was pronounced dead by medical center staff; Harper, who was found to have "bleeding on the brain...which did not appear to have been from the impact of the crash," was reported to be in stable condition.
There was no word from authorities as to whether any charges were expected in the case.
Saturday
May 4th, 2024
3:18PM
