Missouri woman dies from injuries after chain-reaction crashes on I-75 near Perry

A Missouri woman is dead after a series of chain-reaction crashes along northbound Interstate 75 near Perry early Friday, authorities say.

The Georgia State Patrol worked all four crashes along a northbound stretch of I-75 from Exit 136 at Sam Nunn Boulevard to Exit 134 at South Perry Parkway.

The victim was identified as 51-year-old Lisa Gibson, said GSP Sgt. Robbie Robberson. She died from her injuries at the Medical Center, Navicent Health.

Her husband, David Gibson, also was taken to the Medical Center, with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, Robberson said.

Perry police Sgt. Jeff Keenom said the first crash happened at 8:48 a.m. just before Exit 136 north when a tractor-trailer ran off the road.

The second was less than a quarter-mile behind the first, the third was a quarter-mile behind the second, and then the fourth one was about a mile behind the third, Keenom said. The victim was in the third crash.

“Everything happened after the first one, and I think it was after traffic was building up, starting to stop,” Kennom said.

In the fatal crash, traffic was backed up because of the earlier crashes and a tractor-trailer was stopped in the middle lane near Exit 135 as a result.

A Jeep Wrangler was northbound coming behind the tractor-trailer and could not stop in time, Robberson said.

The driver of the Jeep Wrangler steered left to try to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer and the passenger side door of the Jeep Wrangler struck the rear left corner of the tractor-trailer, Robberson said. The Jeep Wrangler then veered off the roadway. Lisa Gibson was a passenger in the Jeep Wrangler that her husband was driving.

The crash closed all three northbound lanes of I-75 for more than three hours, with traffic diverted around the Georgia National Fairgrounds via Sam Nunn Boulevard and Marshallville Road, Robberson said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 12:38 PM.