The section of Browns Bridge Road that was blocked for almost five hours Tuesday afternoon was the result of a house being hauled by a truck snagging some overhead utility lines, pulling down power poles in the process.
Investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) responded to the scene on Browns Bridge Road in the area of Keith Bridge Road just before 12:45.
“They determined the driver of the truck, Christopher Jones, 34, of Monroe, Ga., was…westbound on Browns Bridge when the top of the house he was hauling struck the overhead utility lines,” sheriff’s office spokeswoman B.J. Williams said Wednesday. “As the utility lines came down, they struck six vehicles on the roadway. The vehicles sustained minor damage. There were no injuries reported.”
The Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) division responded and issued a citation to Jones for exceeding the maximum height permitted under the issued permit for his load. Jackson EMC responded to make the necessary repairs to the damaged utility lines and power poles.
Browns Bridge Road was reopened to traffic around 5:30.
Stan Lewis, a spokesman for the Hall County School District (HCSD) said school officials sent messages to the parents of children at Sardis Elementary, Chestatee High, and Chestatee Middle schools that several buses might be delayed because of what happened.
“We had about 100 students impacted initially; the number was reduced to about 50 with families picking up their students,” Lewis said. “We were loading buses a little before 5:30 to transport a little less than 50 student’s home.”