The wreckage on I-85 was horrific. One van was engulfed, and five other vehicles, including a tractor-trailer, were involved, creating a chaotic scene Monday in northeast Georgia.
Investigators initially believed seven people traveling in one van were killed, according to the Georgia State Patrol. But an eighth victim was later recovered, Jackson County Coroner David Whitfield told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
That victim had been overlooked, hidden in the destruction left behind, Whitfield said.
In nearly four decades as the county’s coroner, Whitfield said it’s the worst wreck he has seen. All eight people who died are believed to be part of the same Gwinnett County family.
“I have not seen this amount of deaths in one wreck,” Whitfield said.
Three adults and five children, ranging in age from 2 to 16, were killed, Whitfield said. Their surviving relatives have been notified, but the victims’ names won’t be released until all are positively identified. One of the adults killed was pregnant, Whitfield said.
On Tuesday afternoon, the State Patrol announced that the driver of the tractor-trailer had been arrested. Kane Aaron Hammock, 33, of Gainesville, faces eight counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree vehicular feticide, following too closely, distracted driving and operation of a vehicle without a current plate.
He was booked into the Jackson County Jail, online records show. His bond was set at $93,000.
The chain-reaction wreck happened shortly after 4 p.m. Monday in Jackson County just south of Exit 147, according to the State Patrol. The area is about 20 miles north of Athens and is the exit for Love’s Travel Stop, which is just a few miles from the Tanger Outlets in Commerce.
Investigators said the tractor-trailer struck the back of a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan, causing it to go up in flames, the State Patrol said. All of the occupants of the van died at the scene.
A metro Atlanta-based pet rescue group, Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters, said its van was involved in the deadly pileup. The group had been transporting 37 cats to a shelter in Vermont. The van’s driver had minor injuries, Samantha Shelton, the rescue’s CEO and founder, told the AJC.
“I’m just so sad. I’m so sad that … people lost their lives (Monday),” Shelton said. “The idea that (they) hit our van, and they all perished … it’s just a scenario I would never have thought would have happened, that we would be associated with loss of life like that. We are on the road saving lives.”
Credit: Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters
Credit: Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters
As of Tuesday, 35 cats had been found. The remaining two — an orange male named Birch and a gray-and-white female named Strawberry Shortcake, both less than 6 months old — were seen escaping through the van’s shattered windows and running across the interstate, Shelton said.
The rescue group was working with local authorities to search for the kittens in the surrounding woods.
“It’s going to be challenging, but we’re not going to forget them,” Shelton said.
Of the recovered cats, Shelton said two are hospitalized at the University of Georgia, with one of them in critical condition. They had been wedged into the wreckage, requiring the van to be taken apart piece by piece to get them out.
The Love’s truck stop allowed the group to use one of its showers to triage the cats, Shelton said, and they are being evaluated again by the rescue’s in-house veterinarian. Internal bleeding is the main concern.
Once the cats are cleared, they will likely stay with their foster homes or be adopted locally rather than continuing the trip to Vermont, she said. The group will also need to replace its van.
The incident closed I-85 for several hours, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Lanes started to reopen shortly after 8 p.m.
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