Statement on Savannah accident on May 19
On May 19, 2015, I was driving south on I-16 just north of Savannah when I saw the aftermath of a horrific tractor-trailer crash that killed 5 innocent people. As I passed the scene of the wreck, it was obvious that a tractor trailer was on fire and that it had rear-ended another vehicle. Life flight helicopters were on the scene and I saw what appeared to be body bags being loaded into an ambulance. It was a horrible scene.
My prayers go out to the friends and families of 72-year-old Glenda Adams of Cohutta, 71-year-old Jerry Earnest of Varnell, 39-year-old Wendy Melton of Reidsville, 19-year-old Virgil Moody of Hagan, and 16- year-old Brittanie Altman of Claxton all who died in this wreck according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Many news reports covering this crash indicated that law enforcement officials suspect that the at-fault tractor-trailer driver may have fallen asleep. Those reports remind me of how vitally important it is that tractor-trailer drivers do not exceed their hours of service.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets hours of service regulations for commercial motor vehicles that transport property and people. For example, tractor-trailer drivers that are transporting property may not drive more than 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. They must also take rest breaks and may only drive if 8 hours or less have passed since the end of the driver’s last off-duty or sleeper birth period of at least 30 minutes.
There are more regulations but the point is that drivers who exceed their hours of service put others at risk of death or serious personal injury. Tractor-trailers provide a valuable economic service to our country but when they are operated by careless, distracted, or tired drivers they are extremely dangerous.
My heart goes out to the families and friends of those individuals who lost their lives in this crash. I pray that this tragedy will be a reminder to tractor-trailer drivers of just how dangerous and deadly a tractor- trailer can be when a tired driver is behind the wheel.
