COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A tow truck driver while responding to a crash on Interstate 85 in Coweta County on Wednesday morning.
Georgia State Patrol says two crashes happened in the northbound lanes near the U.S. 29 exit.
They say the tow truck driver, 49-year-old Toby Bowden, was on the scene helping to clear the first crash at 7 a.m.
Bowden was standing in the left lane, which was blocked by two fire engines. That’s when another vehicle speeding down the interstate.
Christopher Thornton, 31, was driving a 2006 Honda Civic down I-85 when he swerved to avoid crashing into the fire engines. He lost control and started rotating until hitting Bowden with his car.
Bowden was pronounced dead on the scene. A Coweta County patrol deputy was standing next to Bowden at the time of the crash, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Thornton was arrested on a previous warrant. He’s being charged with vehicular homicide, Move Over Law violation, reckless driving, driving under the influence, failure to maintain lanes and too fast for conditions.