Driver Airlifted Following Three-Vehicle Crash

Charges are pending in a three-vehicle accident that sent one driver to an area hospital Wednesday evening along Interstate 75 in Bartow County.

At around 9:50 p.m., a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze and a 2014 Dodge Ram were both traveling northbound in the right lane near mile marker 291 while a 2013 Lincoln MKZ was moving along in the left lane.

Gary D. Brooks, 63, of Chattanooga, the driver of the Cruze, “made an improper lane change when he attempted to change into the center lane from the right lane and struck the left rear of the Ram with its right front,” said Georgia State Patrol spokesperson Franka Young.

The impact caused the back of the Ram to yaw counter-clockwise into the center lane. The Cruze then moved counter-clockwise and hit the driver side of the Ram with its left rear, Young added.

The Cruze continued to travel across the left lane, hit the front right side of the MKZ with its left passenger side and came to a final uncontrolled rest in the median facing east.

The Ram came to final uncontrolled stop in the east emergency lane facing north while the MKZ came to a final uncontrolled stop in the west emergency lane facing south, the state patrol said.

Brooks suffered injuries and was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga for treatment. Yelisey S. Shelyagovich, 28, of Conway, South Carolina, the driver of the Ram, was injured, but not transported for treatment.

The driver of the MKZ, Joseph D. Muir, 88, of Sarasota, Florida, was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation, Young stated.

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