Two vehicle crashes in Eatonton last week could have had serious outcomes yet no one was injured, authorities say. One wreck involved a train hitting a car, and the other involved a law enforcement officer in a head-on collision.
On Monday, April 4, Jasper County Sheriff Deputy Emily McLean was driving west on State Route 24 around 6:45 a.m. in Eatonton, according to a report by Georgia State Patrol Trooper Tyler Easter. As McLean approached the intersection of State Route 16/ Monticello Road, a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder, driven by Marlen Cruz of Monticello, was heading east and had stopped in the left turn lane at the traffic light to turn left. There is no turn arrow signal on the traffic light, Easter noted.
The traffic light reportedly was green, so McLean proceeded straight through the intersection, but Cruz failed to yield and went ahead and turned left. The right front fender of her Pathfinder crashed at an angle into the front center of the deputy’s 2016 Dodge Charger patrol car, causing the airbag to deploy inside the Charger.
Both vehicles were totaled and had to be towed away, but neither driver was injured, according to the report. They both were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Trooper Easter noted in his report that it was still dark due to the early morning hour and McLean’s headlights were turned on, but Cruz’s were off. Easter reported that he could not verify if Cruz had used the SUV’s turn signal or not. Cruz was reported as the driver at fault.
In a separate incident around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, April 5, Diamond Deshontia Canty, age 23, was traveling west on Industrial Boulevard in Eatonton in her 2012 Mercedes-Benz C250. An Eatonton Police Department report by officer Tommy Williams reveals that as Canty was crossing over the railroad tracks near Hogan Industrial Boulevard, a train collided with her car and caused the vehicle’s airbag to deploy. The Norfolk Southern train struck the front passenger side of the Mercedes. Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell said Canty told the officers she didn’t see the train, but the train engineers both said they had sounded the train’s horn and the locomotive’s headlights were turned on and shining. A yield sign is reportedly posted on the roadside before the railroad tracks.
“She was very lucky that she wasn’t seriously hurt,” Cardwell noted.
The car was totally disabled and was taken by a tow truck; Canty had no complaints of injury, according to the report.