JONES COUNTY, Ga. — A car crash in Jones County left a mother and daughter dead in Jones County Tuesday night, but some people in Jones County are saying that the intersection where it happened has long been troubled.
The accident happened when the driver of a small blue sedan failed to yield to a log truck, according to Jones County Sheriff's Office Fatality Traffic Accident Investigator Chris Shurley.
The accident killed Rhonda Ramirez and Hazel Wallace, but the intersection has a checkered past.
Since December 2021, there have been six accidents caused due to the intersection. The other five accidents were because of deer or a driver underestimating a turn or ditch.
The last fatal accident at this intersection was in April 2019. 18-year-old Kaitlyn Skidmore collided with a cement truck.
Shurley says the driver should've seen the log truck coming.
"If you stop at that stop sign and you look south on Gray Highway towards Macon, you have every bit of a quarter-mile distance of traffic coming towards you," Shurley said.
While it was dark at the time of the accident, Shurley says lights from the Dollar General and the church across the street keep it well-lit. He says there's no light pole in that area.
Shurley says there's no single reason why accidents happen there.
"By the evidence on scene, it's apparent and from witness statements, the Kia Rio that was at the stop sign on Homer Roberts Road failed to yield to the right of way of the log truck," Shurley said.
Shurley says the driver of the log truck appeared to have his lights on and "all his markers on top of his cab" were illuminated to indicate the log truck could be seen. Shurley says the driver did his best to avoid the women.
"Based off the skids that we measured there, he slammed on his breaks and skid for 200 feet," Shurley said.
Many viewers on Facebook left comments about the issues you've seen from the intersection and have made suggestions. Some suggested a traffic light. Shurley isn't sure that would help.
He says more accidents happen at the Gray Highway bypass and there's traffic lights there.
We did reach out to the Georgia Department of Transportation who couldn't comment on the intersection at this time.