Mark Millican
markmillican@daltoncitizen.com
DALTON —
When two tractor-trailer trucks drivers noticed another big-rig driver weaving across three lanes of traffic on I-75 northbound Saturday morning, they stayed on the phone with Gordon County 911 dispatchers and used their own rigs to try and shield other holiday weekend drivers, authorities said.
The driver, Byron Keith Hale, 41, of 6221 Grand Fox Circle in Flowery Branch, ran his tractor-trailer off the road about a mile north of the Gordon County line in Whitfield County. Whitfield 911 reported that Gordon 911 apprised them of the “lookout” situation at 8:10 a.m., at which time law enforcement authorities were sent to the area, an operator said.
Hale was charged with DUI “under the influence of drugs” and failure to maintain lane, said Senior Trooper E. Tommy Bonaparte of the Georgia State Patrol Post 5 in Dalton.
“Gordon 911 received multiple calls that a trucker was driving recklessly,” Bonaparte said. “At one point he crossed into the left side emergency lane (bordering the median), then became alarmed and jerked the wheel to the right and went off the road on the other side.”
The rig Hale was driving was barely visible from the interstate. The cab of the truck slammed into a tree and two other trees kept the trailer from turning over. The trailer was reportedly carrying office furniture for a large retail chain.
Trooper Gary Langford said Hale walked away from the crash, but was taken to Hamilton Medical Center with a bleeding hand. An emergency worker on the scene said the trailer would have to be unloaded before it could be towed out of the dense woodline.
The truck had “Operated by Cardinal Logistics Management Corporation” out of Concord, N.C., written on the door of the cab. A company representative was not available on Saturday to verify whether Hale was an employee of the company or under contract as an independent driver.
A Whitfield County Jail spokesman said Hale would face a “first appearance” for bond during a Magistrate Court hearing at the jail on Sunday.
