The driver of a dump truck was hospitalized Friday after the vehicle overturned on Ga. 400 in north Forsyth.
Karleen Chalker, spokeswoman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, said the wreck occurred about 3 p.m. between Exit 17 and Hwy. 369.
Motorists were detoured and north and southbound traffic was sluggish for about two hours after the wreck.
Chalker said the truck was heading north on Ga. 400 when the driver lost control and rolled over in the median.
The driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to North Fulton Hospital with several injuries, she said.
Chalker said the truck struck a Lexus, but no one in the vehicle was hospitalized.
“They collided and the dump truck went into the median,” she said. “It was loaded with ground-up asphalt and, in rolling, the truck got entwined in the wires in the median.”
Chalker said DOT crews helped remove the truck from the wires.
“If they were to break they could really hurt somebody, there’s a lot of tension on those wires,” she said.
The incident was a somewhat dubious start to a projected heavy traffic weekend, with more people than last year expected to travel this Fourth of July holiday.
According to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the 2008 Fourth of July travel period (latest statistics available) saw 21 traffic fatalities in the state, and more than 25 percent involved alcohol.
According to AAA, an estimated 34.9 million people nationwide are expected to travel 50 miles or more away from their homes during this year's holiday period, an increase of about 17 percent.
In Georgia, the travel increase is 11 percent, with most of those travelers choosing to go by car.
To ease road concerns, the DOT has suspended construction-related lane closures on all interstates and major state routes from 5 a.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Karleen Chalker, spokeswoman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, said the wreck occurred about 3 p.m. between Exit 17 and Hwy. 369.
Motorists were detoured and north and southbound traffic was sluggish for about two hours after the wreck.
Chalker said the truck was heading north on Ga. 400 when the driver lost control and rolled over in the median.
The driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to North Fulton Hospital with several injuries, she said.
Chalker said the truck struck a Lexus, but no one in the vehicle was hospitalized.
“They collided and the dump truck went into the median,” she said. “It was loaded with ground-up asphalt and, in rolling, the truck got entwined in the wires in the median.”
Chalker said DOT crews helped remove the truck from the wires.
“If they were to break they could really hurt somebody, there’s a lot of tension on those wires,” she said.
The incident was a somewhat dubious start to a projected heavy traffic weekend, with more people than last year expected to travel this Fourth of July holiday.
According to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the 2008 Fourth of July travel period (latest statistics available) saw 21 traffic fatalities in the state, and more than 25 percent involved alcohol.
According to AAA, an estimated 34.9 million people nationwide are expected to travel 50 miles or more away from their homes during this year's holiday period, an increase of about 17 percent.
In Georgia, the travel increase is 11 percent, with most of those travelers choosing to go by car.
To ease road concerns, the DOT has suspended construction-related lane closures on all interstates and major state routes from 5 a.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Tuesday.