Flipped truck sends 1 to hospital

Authorities believe speed was the primary cause of the wreck off Old Dalton Road.

Authorities believe speed was the primary contributing factor to a wreck off Old Dalton Road that sent one man to the hospital with a serious arm injury Sunday.

Floyd County police officer Nicholas Cruz said the Ford F-350 truck was heading toward Rome when driver Tyler Smith of Rome crested a hill at a high rate of speed and lost control of the truck.

According to a witness who was in a vehicle headed in the opposite direction, “(Smith) actually jumped the hill crest, his vehicle left the right side of the roadway, then over-corrected and left the roadway on the left hand side of the road,” Cruz said.

The officer said the truck plowed through a long section of wooden fencing before it finally flipped and landed upside down.

Passenger Jonathan Smith of Rome was taken to Redmond with serious arm and abdominal injuries. Cruz said that it appeared that the passenger was not wearing his seat belt, which contributed

to the seriousness of his injuries. The driver, who was buckled in, suffered some lacerations but did not require hospitalization.

Cruz said he still needed to complete interviews with everyone involved in the wreck before determining any charges.

Doug Walker / Rome News-Tribune Cpl. Brenton Whatley (from left) and firefighters John Galbreath and Todd Lanier survey the scene of a one-vehicle wreck Sunday evening off Old Dalton Road. The passenger in this Ford F-350 was taken to Redmond Regional Medical Center.