Distracted driver blamed for 6-vehicle crash that blocked I-75
A Missouri woman momentarily took her eyes off the road Saturday morning before a six-vehicle pileup on Interstate 75.
At about 7 a.m., Amanda Richardson, of St. Charles, had just passed the Sardis Church Road exit in south Bibb County when she looked down in her 2017 Ford Expedition, a Bibb County sheriff’s news release stated.
As they neared a Georgia Department of Transportation work zone at the Byron exit, Richardson hit a 2006 Honda CRV in front of her, driven by Thomas Lyerly of Lawrenceville.
Lyerly’s CRV rear-ended the 2012 Honda Accord driven by Jang Moon, of Macon, which hit the back of a 2008 Nissan 350Z driven by Tennilleql Everette-Battle, of Macon.
Everette-Battle’s car was knocked into the rear of a 2014 Jeep Cherokee driven by Jean Chesling, of Cartersville, and the Jeep hit the back of a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Scottie Roberson of Dacula.
Roberson was stopped in traffic.
#TrafficUPDATE - Shoulder open, but all lanes blocked on I-75 south past Sardis Church as @MaconBibb fire dept. starts extricating victim from wreck. pic.twitter.com/Na8Cmpu6wg
— Liz Jarvis Fabian (@liz_lines) December 2, 2017
At least one person had to be extricated from a mangled vehicle, Macon-Bibb County firefighters said.
The sheriff’s office reports Thomas and Leda Lyerly in the CRV and Christine Emert, who was riding in Richardson’s Ford Expedition, all went to the hospital for minor injuries.
Richardson was cited for distracted driving.
Although some vehicles initially could skirt the wreck on the shoulder, all southbound lanes were closed for about 2 hours.
Liz Fabian: 478-744-4303, @liz_lines
This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Distracted driver blamed for 6-vehicle crash that blocked I-75."