Wreck causes delays on I-285 in DeKalb County

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News is learning new information about a local cement company's safety record after one of its trucks flipped over a barrier on Interstate 285 near Moreland Avenue Tuesday, causing a traffic tie-up for hours.

Cleanup crews finally got all the debris from the wreck off the side of the road around 4 p.m.

Despite the dangers, DeKalb County fire rescue crews spent nearly two hours working to remove the driver of the flipped cement mixer from this mangled cab.

"There definitely was an exposure problem with this, exposure to our people some problems related to this," said Deputy Fire Chief Norman Augustin with DeKalb County Fire Rescue.

Hazards like leaking fuel, motor oil and cement all over the road and, ultimately, the rescuers themselves.

Investigators said the truck blew a tire while traveling in the eastbound lanes. The driver lost control, hit the concrete center barrier, went airborne and landed in the westbound lanes.

The driver, from Wayne Davis Concrete out of Villa Rica, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant checked the company's federal safety records online and found Wayne Davis trucks were involved in three other crashes over the last eight months in Paulding, Fulton and Clayton counties, but the only citation came from the Clayton crash.

Aside from a few minor safety violations during recent inspections, there are no real red flags.

Meantime, the Georgia State Patrol will inspect the cement mixer involved in Tuesday’s crash.

GSP inspectors will check everything from the condition of the cement truck's tires to the brake system to see if a maintenance issue played any role in the crash.

We've asked GSP to provide us with their reports as soon as they're complete.

Cox Media Group