A Brinson man was injured when his pickup truck traveled into the path of a semi trailer truck on U.S. Highway 84 West on Wednesday night, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

The accident happened at 9:47 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 on U.S. 84 West.

Joey Ferrell Haire, 54, of 156 John Bush Road, Brinson, was attempting to pull out from a median cut-through into the eastbound lanes of U.S. 84. Haire’s pickup traveled into a lane occupied by an oncoming semi trailer truck driven by Glenn Dewayne Knight 53, of Dothan, Ala.

Knight moved into the inside lane of travel to pass Haire, when Haire’s pickup abruptly veered into the inside lane of travel, according to the accident report filed by Senior Trooper Charles Hall of the GSP’s Colquitt, Ga., post.

Haire’s pickup truck then turned completely sideways across the inside lane of travel and the semi truck struck the pickup’s driver’s side.

Haire, who was not wearing his seat belt, was ejected out of the pickup into the grassy highway median, according to the report. He suffered an “incapacitating,” but non-life-threatening injury to his chest. Decatur County EMS transported Haire by ambulance to Southeast Medical Center in Dothan, Ala.

Both the pickup and the semi trailer truck had to be towed away from the scene. Knight was not injured.

According to the GSP’s report, Haire will be cited for DUI (alcohol – less safe driver), improper lane change and a seatbelt violation.

 

City dump truck catches fire

A City of Bainbridge dump truck was significantly damaged by fire on Wednesday afternoon, according to City Manager Chris Hobby.

The dump truck, which is used to pick up leaves and limbs from curbsides, was parked at what is known as the Old Clay Pit in West Bainbridge, where the city’s yard debris is deposited.

The truck was not running and no one was around it when the fire broke out, which initially made the fire suspicious in nature, Hobby said. However, Public Safety officers later hypothesized that the late afternoon heat inside the truck’s cab could have been hot enough to cause a container of motor oil inside the truck to reach its flashing point, BPS Director Eric Miller said.

The motor oil was in a five-gallon container, which was about half full, Miller said.

The Collins English Dictionary defines flashing point as “the lowest temperature at which the vapor above a liquid can be ignited in air.” The oil igniting could have spread to other surfaces in the cab of the truck, Miller explained.

“I can’t completely rule out arson, but it’s also possible the hot conditions started the fire, so the official cause of the fire will be ‘undetermined,’” Miller said.

Decatur County Fire and Rescue and Public Safety officers responded to put out the fire.