Troopers investigate four-vehicle crash
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

Sheriff Greg Coursey surveys the accident scene where four people were injured.

Four people were injured when a tractor-trailer plowed into a line of stopped cars at a construction zone.

According to Major Larry Lewis of the Burke County Sheriff's Office, the wreck happened on Highway 80 West, at the intersection of Story Mill Road, around 2:30 p.m. Monday.

"There were no life threatening injuries," he said, surveying photographs he took of the aftermath. "God was with each and every one of those people … it could have been so much worse."

Officers say the truck driver, Louis Carter of Augusta, realized too late that the vehicles ahead of him were stopped. He was unable to slow down his rig.

"He rammed the minivan first," Major Lewis said. "Then he hit the truck and the Cruiser."

Waynesboro resident Patricia Wallace, the driver of the PT Cruiser, and Angela Parker of Decatur, the driver of the Toyota Tacoma, were both treated and released the same day.

The driver and passenger in the Chrysler Minivan, Huug Berkheij and David Waugh, both employees at OM Lit, were transported to the Medical College of Georgia. According to a hospital spokesperson, Waugh was later released, and Berkheij's condition had been upgraded to good by Tuesday afternoon.

Carter, the truck driver, was not hurt.

Whether or not Carter is charged will be left to state troopers who are investigating the accident.