Earlier this month, we reported on an accident involving a car and a rental truck in Lowndes County on I-75. The accident, that occurred just before the Fourth of July weekend, left four people dead. Days later, several other details have emerged. Georgia State Patrol now believes that road rage could have been a possible factor in that crash.
The victims were four female passengers, including a mother, her two young daughters and her boyfriend, Jerome Roberts. Police are looking into whether road rage on the part of Roberts could have been a factor in the car accident. The tragic sequence of events unfolded when another motorist, Douglas Jones, called police to tell them that a driver in a gold 2003 Saturn Vue was driving recklessly and aggressively. A rental truck driver then struck both Jones’ car and the Saturn Vue. The passengers in the Saturn Vue were trapped, and both the rental truck and the Saturn caught fire. Witnesses at the scene pulled Roberts from his car, but he was declared dead at the scene. The three female passengers died in the car from serious burin injuries. Douglas Jones also suffered injuries. According to the police, they were still on the phone with him when the crash occurred.
The Georgia State Patrol has listed Jerome Roberts as the at-fault driver in its accident report.
If road rage really was a factor in this accident, then the tragic turn of events isn’t too shocking. Out on the street, when you are frustrated or mad at a fellow motorist and want to show him what you’re made of by displaying aggressive behavior towards him, you may not imagine that the consequences can be devastating, but they often are.
Yesterday, we discussed a new report that places Atlanta’s traffic as the third most congested in the country. It isn’t so surprising that the city’s drivers, stuck in traffic as they are for hours, were also rated some of the rudest and most aggressive motorists in the country. High traffic congestion is directly related to high frustration levels, and consequently, aggressive driving.
Until the city can get its transportation infrastructure up to par to alleviate traffic strain, Georgia car accident lawyers would advise motorists to:
- Be patient while driving.
- Allow yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, so you’re not fuming stuck in traffic.
- Have a contingency plan. Mark other routes that you can take to get to your destination, when the roads get too congested.
- If another motorist provokes you by yelling or making rude gestures, don’t take the bait. Remain calm, and avoid eye contact.