A driver who plowed into a power pole along GA 197 North says he blacked out behind the wheel.
20-year-old Dalton Alexander Mitcham was driving north on 197 around 4:15 p.m. Monday when the accident occurred. The impact of the crash severely damaged his pickup truck and broke the power pole in half. As the pole toppled to the ground, live electrical wires fell on top of a passing tractor-trailer.
48-year-old Dennis William Ryan of Lawrenceville was behind the wheel of that rig, according to Georgia State Patrol TFC John Crawford. He was temporarily trapped inside, unable to exit the truck until the electricity was turned off.
Ryan was not injured. Mitcham suffered minor injuries. He was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment.
The accident shut down a mile-long stretch of Hwy. 197 North between Wall Bridge and Tech School Roads as utility crews worked to repair the damage.
North Georgia Technical College canceled its evening classes in Clarkesville due to the power outage.
Electricity was restored to the area around 8:45 p.m. Windstream repaired phone, cable, and internet lines that were downed by the wreck. The road reopened to traffic around 9:45 p.m.
Mitcham told officials he blacked out at the wheel for “unknown reasons”, possibly medical, according to Crawford. He’s charged with failure to maintain lane.
This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Dalton Mitcham’s last name.
