The driver of this pickup managed to park and escape before flames consumed the truck. (photo/Richard Hayes)
Two drivers walked away unharmed from two separate incidents Monday near Clarkesville.
Clarkesville man’s truck catches fire
The first incident happened around 1 p.m. when a pickup truck caught fire near North Georgia Technical College on GA 197 North. When firefighters and emergency responders arrived, they found the pickup parked on the side of the road engulfed in flames.
The driver, Howard Mull of Clarkesville, said he was having mechanical problems before the fire broke out, according to Habersham Emergency Services Battalion Chief Jason Garrett.
Both lanes of the highway were closed for about twenty minutes as firefighters extinguished the flames.
NGTC student wrecks on GA 17
While emergency crews were working the scene at North Georgia Tech, they received a call about an overturned vehicle on the Toccoa Highway. Units responded and found a 2012 Nissan Sentra wedged in the ditch near Jess Kinney Road.
21-year-old Tylesha Rayton says she was on her way to Royston from North Georgia Technical College when the accident happened.
“I was headed to my dad’s house to get my car fixed,” she says.
Georgia State Patrol Trooper First Class C. Campbell says Rayton was traveling south on GA 17/Toccoa Highway when she ran off the road. Her car traveled into the ditch, jumped over Jess Kinney Road and overturned. The car landed on its wheels on the west shoulder of the highway.
Rayton was not injured.
“It was scary seeing my car flip in the air,” she tells Now Habersham. “I thought it was worse.”
She says she knows how lucky she is.
“I was sad about the car but I’m here, so, that’s all that matters.”
The accident temporarily tied up traffic on the Toccoa Highway as officials investigated and the wreckage was removed.
No other vehicles were involved. Rayton was charged with failure to maintain lane.
