Fatal tractor-trailer crash closes traffic near downtown Macon. What we know

Traffic was at a standstill after a fatal crash Wednesday morning on a highway near downtown Macon.

The driver of a tractor-trailer died on Interstate 16 Eastbound near Coliseum Drive according to the Bibb County Coroner’s Office.

Donnye Leval Culbreth, a 48-year-old man from Hinesville in Liberty County, crashed around 6:20 a.m., Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones told The Telegraph.

All lanes of traffic were shut down for over three hours, according to Georgia State Patrol’s Public Information Officer Courtney Lund.

Culbreth’s Estes Transportation truck was the only vehicle involved in the wreck, Jones said.

“It struck a construction barrier and then moved to the right shoulder,” Lund said. “It came to a final rest after hitting another construction barrier.”

The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department and GSP responded to the scene. It was unclear what time they arrived.

Culbreth “had to get extricated” from the front of the vehicle, which was crushed and flipped, Jones said.

The front of the truck was totaled and the tandem trailers were tilted on the side near a concrete barricade on the side of the road.

Chief Deputy Coroner Lonnie Miley pronounced Culbreth dead at the scene around 6:45 a.m.

The scene was still active, but all lanes of traffic reopened by 11 a.m., Lund said.

State troopers were investigating what happened.

This story may be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 10:23 AM.