A fiery three-vehicle crash involving a Ford Mustang and two tractor-trailers seriously injured a Demorest teenager on Tuesday.
The crash happened around 10:40 a.m. on October 10 on GA 365 in Stephens County.
A crash report released late Tuesday by Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa says 17-year-old Harley Brooks was driving a Mustang in the north right lane of the highway near Trestle Ridge Road. Troopers say Brooks was following too closely and struck the rear left corner of a Kenworth T880 driven by 44-year-old Kevin Franklin of Suwanee.
The Ford Mustang then traveled into the lefthand lane of GA 365 North and ran underneath the trailer of a 1998 Peterbilt driven by 59-year-old Johnny Lawson of Buchanan, Virginia. The Peterbilt’s tandem trailer tires ran over the Mustang.
The collision ignited a fire, fully engulfing the Mustang. Brooks managed to free himself from the vehicle before first responders arrived.
Paramedics later airlifted the teen to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for treatment of first- and second-degree burns. He also suffered other non-life-threatening injuries, the state patrol says.
Troopers charged Brooks with following too closely. Neither of the truck drivers was injured in the wreck.
