A head-on crash between an eighteen wheeler tanker and a Chrysler Town & Country mini-van has left a female child passenger dead and the adult female driver of the van in extremely critical condition. Volunteer fire and rescue units from Sandersville and Rustin were dispatched to the call just before 2:00 p.m. with the wreck reported on Sandersville-Pleasant Grove Road near Jessie Byrd Road. A second alarm dispatched Powers Volunteer Fire & Rescue with Rescue 1 and Heavy Rescue. Upon arrival, emergency services units advised both victims in the van were trapped and extensive extrication efforts were undertaken using
three full sets of hydraulic rescue tools.
Multiple units from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, EMServ Ambulance Service, Sandersville Police Department, Jones County Fire Coordinator Dan McKenna and Beat 3 Supervisor Barry Saul responded to the call. The adult female driver was extricated and driven by ambulance to a nearby landing zone in a field where an Air Care rescue helicopter landed. Rustin firefighters established and manned the landing zone during the air rescue helicopter’s landing and departure. The female child was declared deceased at the scene and firefighters worked diligently for nearly thirty minutes to extricate her body from the destroyed vehicle. The driver of the eighteen wheeler owned by T.K. Stanley was unhurt. The roadway was closed for over three hours as rescue, accident investigation and vehicle recovery operations proceeded. Seven rescue and fire apparatus along with nearly twenty volunteer firefighters from the three volunteer fire departments responded to the scene. Beat 3 units were called in to sand the roadway which was coated in vehicle fluids and fuel. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Jones County Sheriff’s Department. UPDATE: Additional responding agencies to the fatality crash in Sandersville today included:
District Attorney Investigator Wayne Black, Deputy Coroner Burl Hall, Jones County Fire Chaplain Drew Blanton
We understand that the adult female driver of the mini-van who was transported by Aircare rescue helicopter was sent to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg.
