A Northwest Georgia man was killed when the SUV he was driving crashed into the cable barriers and overturned on Interstate 85 North in Franklin County. The Georgia State Patrol identifies the deceased driver as 19-year-old James Allen Hardin of Hiram.
The crash happened during the early morning commute Monday, September 26, about a mile south of the Lavonia exit.
Around 6:47 a.m., troopers from Post 52 in Hartwell were dispatched to the single-vehicle wreck. They say Hardin was driving a red 2002 Ford Expedition northbound in the left lane. For an unknown reason, the Expedition traveled off the west shoulder and into the median, where it struck the cable barrier. The Expedition traveled back into the northbound lanes of the interstate and began to overturn, at which time Hardin was ejected from the vehicle.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 85 were closed for approximately 1.5 hours to conduct the crash investigation and remove the extensive amount of roadway debris.
