Shirley Calls For Traffic Light At Site of Sunday Wreck

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley is renewing the call for a traffic light at the intersection where a serious accident took place over the weekend.

Numerous people were injured, including some seriously, after a truck collided with a van from Martin Baptist Church Sunday around noon at the intersection of the Toccoa By-pass and Memorial Drive.

Shirley said that Sunday is just the latest in a long line of accidents to take place there.

“We have had so many accidents up there with injuries,” said Shirley. “I know of four fatalities in the last seven or eight years and many other wrecks where luckily there were no injuries.”

The sheriff said that he has previously reached out to the Georgia Department of Transportation regarding a traffic light at that intersection, but the DOT has felt differently and not put one in.

“(Sunday) I called (50th District State) Senator John Wilkinson and spoke with him at length,” said Shirley. “He is very concerned as well and is going to personally going to contact the new Commissioner of the (Georgia) Department of Transportation this week and hopefully they will be moving to get one installed.”

In Sunday’s accident, Shirley said that the truck pulled out of Memorial Drive onto the by-pass and collided with the church van, causing the van to overturn multiple times and eject a young girl from the van.

Shirley said that the van landed on the girl’s arm and bystanders got the girl’s arm out from under the van.

The girl was airlifted to Egleston Children’s Hospital and the driver of the van was airlifted to Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Numerous others were taken to Stephens County Hospital and the driver of the truck was taken onto Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

The sheriff credited all of those who responded to the accident Sunday to help those that were injured.

“I am so proud of our paramedics and local first responders,” said Shirley. “They did a fantastic job taking care of those that were injured.”

According to the sheriff, Georgia State Patrol troopers reported that the driver of the truck was DUI at the time of the accident.

Shirley urged motorists to use caution at that intersection, as well as at all other times on the highways.