On Friday, four people were killed when a small plane crashed on the I-285 in an Atlanta suburb.
The plane was headed to an Ole Miss graduation ceremony after taking off from DeKalb Peachtree Airport when the pilot, 53 year-old Greg Byrd, lost control and crashed on the busy Atlanta highway. Everyone aboard the aircraft died in the crash; Byrd’s two sons — Phillip and Christopher Byrid, Christopher’s fiancee, Jacke Kulzer, and the family dog were all aboard the aircraft.
As the plane was in free fall, drivers on the highway slammed their brakes in an attempt to avoid a collision. One truck driver, Gerald Smith, was directly in the planes path, as it clipped the hood of his truck when it hit the ground.
He described his experience to WSB TV reporters, “If I would have stayed on the gas, it would have come in the passenger door.” The full interview can be seen in the clip below.
Not even a plane crash can phase a professional #trucker. Check out this incredible news report from Atlanta. http://t.co/uNYZ1zTqzT
— American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) May 8, 2015
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, but officials say it may take up to a year before an official report is released. There was no black box aboard the aircraft.