LAKE PARK —
A large pile of timber and a contorted trailer blocked the two eastbound lanes of Lakes Boulevard Tuesday after a log truck swerved through a gas station parking lot and lost its payload just east of Interstate 75.
The driver of the log truck told the Times that the brakes were unresponsive as he approached the intersection, causing the truck to speed through the redlight and suddenly injecting the timber lorry into a stunned pack of noonday motorists.
Only a few minor injuries were reported. Two wreckers and another log truck were dispatched to clear the semi-truck and its timber and trailer from the roadway.
A number of Lowndes County Sheriff’s officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers responded to the incident. Lowndes County Fire Rescue and two wreckers were on hand as well.
Another semi-truck was pulling out of one of the gas station’s two northern exits as the log truck sped through the intersection. The driver of the log truck said he had to swerve inside of the gas station parking lot to avoid a direct collision with the other truck.
He guided the trailer between the gas station’s road sign and an RV inside the parking lot, around the sign’s 15-foot median, through the adjacent exit and back out onto the boulevard .
“It’s nerve wracking, that’s for sure,” said the driver. “I just didn’t want to hurt anyone. I can hurt myself, but I definitely didn’t want to involve others.”
The right side of the truck vaulted the curb while exiting the parking lot, causing the fully loaded trailer to twist and topple its cache of timber onto the busy boulevard.
There were two other vehicles involved in the incident. A fourth vehicle may have had a role in the incident, according to Georgia State Patrol officials and witness accounts.
A silver sedan took a moderate amount of damage from an impact related to the incident, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the driver of the logging trucker had blindsided the sedan or if a fourth vehicle had dealt the damage.
Charges are pending further investigation, according to authorities from the Georgia State Patrol.
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