Clayton News Daily

A car fell about 35 feet from a Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) construction site in Morrow, on Friday, and landed on its hood on the embankment below, according to Detective Sgt. Lawrence Oglesby, of the Morrow Police Department.

The incident occurred at approximately 10 a.m. “It came to rest flipped over,” he said.

The woman driving was able to remove herself from the vehicle, and had visible trauma to her face, he said. She was in critical condition, and was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta by the Morrow Fire Department. The department arrived at the scene within about 4 minutes of the incident, he said.

The vehicle was found with orange construction tape under its hood, he added.

“It might have been a condition where her brakes might have gone out,” said Oglesby, guessing at the cause of the accident.

The woman was driving a 2001 Nissan Maxima, he said.

The driver, about 20 years old, took a right turn onto Jonesboro Road in Morrow, from Southlake Parkway, he explained. She cut through the construction site and traveled 920 feet on the gravel before the vehicle plunged below, he said.

“There were signs posted not to enter ... The construction area is down below I-75,” he said. The construction site also had orange barrels to block traffic from entering the site, said Oglesby. The construction project is creating ramps, and widening roads in the area near exit 233. “Everything is visibly marked,” he said.