Rabun Co. Garbage Truck rolls down Embankment on SR 184

Sister station, WNEG, reports that on June 6, a Rabun County Solid Waste transfer truck making a routine delivery of trash from Rabun County to a Banks County landfill, failed to navigate a sharp corner on State Route 184 in Stephens County and rolled down the steep embankment.  Several law enforcement and public safety agencies responded to the incident, which occurred at approximately 2:30pm.  As with all incidents that occur on state routes, the Georgia State Patrol took control of the scene, and as of 5pm on Tuesday, the incident was still under active investigation, with no comment available from the responding trooper.  An official from the Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division was also on site conducting an inspection.  The corner, which is a sharp right corner when traveling south from the Jeanette Jamieson Intersection, past the parking area for the Frady Branch Equestrian and Bike trail, catches drivers unprepared and has been the site of multiple crashes, said Chuck Wright, who owns the property adjoining the right-of-way along that stretch of SR184.  “This is the first transfer truck that I’ve seen go over the embankment, but we’ve had about one or two cars per year that miss the turn and lose control and go over this embankment,” he said. “It’s not been too long ago that we had a truck go over the bank.”  Wright, who is a Stephens County Commissioner and a member of Keep Toccoa-Stephens County Beautiful, told WNEG News that he had been standing in his doorway and heard the crash, which he said sounded like a plane crash in the woods.  Alan English, Director of the Rabun County Solid Waste Department, arrived on scene and spoke with Wright.  “I apologize,” he told Wright. “I wanted to tell you…whatever mess we make here, we will clean up.”  English told Wright that they were attempting to get a crew of inmates to help with the cleanup, but assured Wright that Rabun County would take care of the scene cleanup.  Wright said a guardrail along the edge of the curve would not have stopped the transfer truck from exiting the roadway, but said that for most of the crashes that occur on the corner, the addition of a guardrail would be helpful.