2 Injured In Head-On Collision on Hwy. 27
Photos, Story By RNW Reporter Hayden Jennings
Video By RNW Editor Jerry Duke
According to police, a DUI Driver was to blame for a serious Head-On Collision on the Ledbetter Interchange just before the Maple St. Exit Sunday Evening.
Police were advised just before 10:00 that a vehicle was going in the wrong direction on US 27 inbound toward Rome.
The driver, now identified as Eric Vasquez, of 109 Wiley Drive in Cedartown was driving in White Honda Civic traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of US Hwy. 27 South near Darlington Dr. As they scrambled to intercept the wrong-way driver, the Civic and a Green Ford Bronco rounded the curve just before the Maple St. Exit and collided head-on.
According to witnesses, the Civic was going around 80 MPH at the time of impact. By the time the cars came to rest, both were pointing in the opposite directions they had been traveling.
The Driver of the Bronco was taken to Floyd Medical Center but did not appear to suffer from life-threatening injuries. Vasquez was transported to Floyd Medical Center and then to Earlanger Medical Center with serious injuries.
Due to the extent of damage to the Civic, Emergency Crews were unable to remove him from the driver’s door even after using the Hurst Tool (Jaws of Life). The driver had to be removed through the rear passenger-side door. The process took around 20 minutes.
US Hwy. 27 Eastbound was shut down for about an hour as cars lined up through the interchange 
back towrds town.
Two Lucky City Electrical Dept. Workers who were going light pole-to-light pole replacing lights were a short distance away from the accident scene and would have also been hit if they were at their next scheduled pole.
Police have charged Vasquez with DUI, reckless driving, driving on the wrong side of the road, and failure to obey a traffic control device.
