Pedmont Trucker Killed In Grinding Accident
A Piedmont, Ala., log truck driver died Tuesday when he ran into the rear of a dump truck on U.S. 278 near Hokes Bluff.
James Franklin Beecham, 49, was killed in the wreck but the driver of the dump truck, 38-year-old Paul Taylor Pledger, of Ball Play, was only slightly injured. The impact caused the dump truck to turn over, dumping its load of chert.
The logs shifted, crunching the cab of the Beecham’s truck and pinning him inside the wreckage. It’s the third wreck in less than two years involving a large truck overturning and spilling its load.
Hokes Bluff Police Chief Mitchell Hill said the section of highway is included in the state’s next phase of a U.S. Highway 278 four-laning project.
