Police are on the hunt for a suspect who crashed an SUV into a semi truck, knocking the rig off the road, before fleeing the scene on foot.
The incident happen on Thursday, October 19th at approximately 6 a.m. in Catoosa County, Georgia.
According to News Channel 9, the SUV was traveling on southbound Interstate 75, near the Tennessee-Georgia state line, when it struck the semi truck’s trailer at a high rate of speed. The force of the impact sent the big rig swerving off the roadway and into a ditch, causing a chain reaction crash with several other vehicles.
NEW: Georgia State Patrol says the driver that caused the crash and fled the scene was driving a STOLEN SUV taken from Signal Mountain pic.twitter.com/Dxvh8ha9ay
— Katherine Marchand (@KatherineNC9) October 19, 2017
The driver of the SUV then fled the scene on foot. Police later discovered that the SUV was stolen. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
Kiera Favors, the truck driver who was hauling 35,000 pounds of nails, was just happy to be able to walk away from the incident.
“I was scared. I knew it was my last day. I was just praying to God,” Favors said.
NEW: Troopers have a description of the driver that caused the I-75 crash and fled
-black female
-5'6"
-striped shirt pic.twitter.com/qLWxLF0GvO— Katherine Marchand (@KatherineNC9) October 19, 2017
Favors speculates that the weight of the nails kept the big rig from flipping over, potentially saving lives.
Georgia State Patrol Troopers say that the SUV responsible for the wreck was stolen from Signal Mountain, Tennessee. The suspect is a black female who is approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and was wearing a striped shirt.
Subject to change: Estimated clear time is 10AM. #CHAtraffic pic.twitter.com/iuQ5lqyJ9T
— TrafficTracker9 (@TrafficTracker9) October 19, 2017
“I noticed a lady was walking down the freeway. I thought it was kind of odd,” said John Grider, a witness to the incident.
Traffic was slow on I-75 for several hours as crews worked to clean up the debris. Motorists were directed to use Highway 41 as an alternate route. Cleanup took around 3 hours and the accident was cleared by 10:30 a.m.
Police are still searching for the suspect, who remains on the run.
