Fedex driver among 4 killed in foggy highway crash in Ga.

MONTROSE, Ga. — More than two dozen cars, pickup trucks and tractor-trailers collided Wednesday morning in a fiery pileup on a foggy Georgia interstate, killing at least four people and sending nine others to a hospital, officials said.

Work crews on Interstate 16 were still clearing charred and twisted wreckage from the crash scene, which covered nearly a quarter-mile of the roadway, hours after the chain of crashes occurred at about 8:10 a.m.

The Georgia State Patrol was still trying to piece together what started the series of wrecks involving 27 vehicles. Capt. Kirk McGlamery said even drivers who dodged to the side of cars crashing in front of them weren’t safe from getting rear-ended off the highway’s shoulder.

Officials said poor visibility likely played a big part. Weather forecasts called for dense fog Wednesday morning, and McGlamery said motorists reported smoke across the highway. He said a controlled burn had been permitted nearby the day before.

The crash shut down I-16 in both directions for several hours, though an eastbound lane reopened Wednesday afternoon. The highway covers only 170 miles between nearby Macon in central Georgia and Savannah on the coast. But it’s heavily traveled by commercial trucks hauling goods between Atlanta and Savannah’s busy seaport.

McGlamery said seven tractor-trailers were involved in the pileup, including an empty fuel tanker. Fumes inside the tanker exploded and caught fire, though the driver of the rig survived.

A driver of a FedEx Ground truck was killed in the accident. His name was not released.

“We extend our sincerest sympathies to his family and friends,” said FedEx spokeswoman Shea Leordeanu. “We are fully cooperating with all authorities, but don’t have further information at this time,” she said.

The driver was employed by a FedEx Ground contractor.

Joseph White, a soldier in the Army National Guard, told The Courier Herald of Dublin he was heading to work when he drove into heavy traffic clouded by black smoke. He was rear-ended before he saw a fuel tanker hit an 18-wheeler.

“I’m looking back and the tanker exploded,” said White, who ran from the scene after his car came to a halt. “Pieces of the tanker flew toward me on the freeway, barely missing me.”