CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Cherokee County intersection is back open after a serious accident involving a school bus and a tractor trailer.
The accident happened at the intersection of Highway 20 and Hightower Road around 7:30 a.m.
Investigators said the school bus driver suffered an injured hand, but everyone else walked away OK.
The front of the bus, carrying one child, was rammed by the tractor trailer.
Traffic was backed up as investigators worked the scene. Their conclusion was the driver of the tractor trailer ran a stop sign on Hightower Road and hit the school bus heading west on Highway 20.
"I honestly believe he just wasn't paying attention. He didn't know the stop sign was there, and just didn't get the truck stopped in time," said Lt. John New from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department
Along with the accident, crews had to deal with a Hazmat situation when diesel started flowing out of a punctured tank on the tractor trailer. Firefighters put down material to soak it up as deputies and the state patrol directed traffic and investigated what happened.
Officers said they plan to charge the tractor trailer driver with running a stop sign and failure to yield. Both charges are misdemeanors.
WSBTV
