Traffic was blocked on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Eatonton on Monday for a few hours after a dump truck overturned on its side and its contents were strewn all over the road.
The driver, 68-year-old Franklin Mooney of Monroe, was flown by medical helicopter to Atrium Health Medical Center in Macon. Putnam County Sheriff’s Chief of Staff Russell Blenk said Mooney’s condition was unknown at the newspaper’s press time Tuesday.
The dump truck, which Mooney owned, was traveling east toward Pea Ridge Road, according to Cpl. Chris Donovan. Just past the intersection of Park Road, the truck went off the right side of the road, according to a witness. Donovan said the yaw marks, which are scuffmarks on the road’s surface made by a rotating wheel while a vehicle is sliding sideways, confirmed the witness’s statement.
“You could see the yaw mark where he did just barely go off the edge of the road, and then the yaw marks indicated he snatched the steering wheel, basically overcorrected, and went on the other side and rolled over and ended up in the ditch,” Donovan said. “And, of course, the milling it was carrying went all over the road.”
“Milling” is the top layer of asphalt pavement, which has been ground for recycling, Donovan explained, and said Putnam County Public Works Department was called to help clear the road.
Donovan stood beside Mooney as they waited for Putnam County Fire Department firefighters to use their hydraulic “Jaws of Life” tool to rescue him from the dump truck’s mangled cab.
“I was briefly able to talk to him through the crack of the door, but he wasn’t really able to talk a whole lot,” Donovan said. “I’m sure he was in shock. He was standing inside the cab, and it was basically encased around him. Once they used their equipment tools to pry the doors open, he was able to help himself get out, but I don’t know the extent of his injuries.”
The single-vehicle crash was still under investigation at The Messenger’s press time.