A Waycross man died Wednesday after a tire blew on the commercial truck he was driving, causing him to wreck on I-985 in Gainesville.
The accident happened around 7 p.m. in the northbound lane of the interstate near Exit 22.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Eddie Cooper lost control of the Peterbilt 320 he was driving and veered into the lefthand lane. The truck struck a pickup, then continued onto the left shoulder of the road, ran through a guardrail and down an embankment.
Cooper, 40, and a passenger, Stacy Ramsey, 49, of Marietta, were trapped inside the work truck. Hall County firefighters and EMS personnel freed them from the wreckage. Both sustained serious injuries. Ambulances transported them to Northeast Georgia Medical Center where Cooper was pronounced dead.
The driver of the pickup, 36-year-old Brian Gilbert of Gainesville, suffered minor injuries. Officials say medics treated him on the scene and did not transport him to the hospital.
The commercial vehicle was registered to Roadside Specialties LLC, of Cumming, according to GSP.
No charges are expected to be filed.
