A passenger suffered a broken back Wednesday afternoon after the car she was riding in swerved to avoid a stopped FedEx truck and slammed into the corner of a LaGrange home. The crash happened around 1:15 p.m. on Mooty Bridge Road near Wynwood Drive, leaving the vehicle's driver and the home's resident uninjured but sending the passenger to the hospital with a serious injury.
According to CNAW2, the LaGrange Police Department said driver Clifford Arrington was traveling southbound on Mooty Bridge Road when he came upon a FedEx truck stopped in the roadway waiting to turn left onto Wynwood Drive. Police said Arrington was going too fast to stop in time, so he swerved left to avoid hitting the truck, which sent his vehicle off the road and into the corner of a residence at 105 Wynwood Drive.
Taylor Orantes-Gibson, the passenger in Arrington's vehicle, was transported from the scene and later determined to have suffered a broken back, per the same report. Both Arrington and Orantes-Gibson are from Hogansville. Pierre Bryant, identified as the resident of Apartment A at 105 Wynwood Drive, was not injured in the crash, and Arrington himself also escaped injury.
Charges Filed Against the Driver
LaGrange police charged Arrington with striking a fixed object, failure to maintain lane, too fast for conditions, and following too closely, the outlet's report states. The charges reflect the department's account of how the sequence of events unfolded, beginning with the stopped delivery truck and ending with the car crashing into the side of the home.
In the wake of the crash, the LaGrange Police Department reminded motorists to use caution as the holiday season approaches, urging drivers to watch their speed, wear seatbelts, put down their cellphones, and remain patient with other motorists on the road, according to the same account.
A Road With a History of Serious Wrecks
This isn't the first serious crash recorded on Mooty Bridge Road. In June 2021, LaGrange police were dispatched to the 1700 block of the road for a fatal single-vehicle accident, according to WTVM. The following year, officers responded to a separate two-vehicle wreck on the same road that left one person dead, WTVM also reported in a 2022 report. Those earlier incidents are separate cases and do not establish a pattern tied to Wednesday's crash, but they underscore that the corridor has seen more than one serious collision in recent years.
The Georgia Department of Transportation maintains a statewide Crash Data Dashboard that tracks crash and vehicle data on Georgia's public roads alongside safety-campaign information, though the agency's public materials don't break out specific crash trends for Mooty Bridge Road or LaGrange.
How to Report Information
LaGrange police continue to rely on their tip411 system for anonymous reports related to local incidents. Residents can submit tips through the department's mobile application, an online portal, or by text message using the keyword LaGrange sent to 847411. This remains a developing story.
