Sheriff's Office Identifies 2 Killed In Cumming Crash

CUMMING, GA -- The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office has released the identities of the two men who were killed and the other motorist who was injured in a head-on collision Monday afternoon. The agency was dispatched to the scene around 2:02 p.m. Sept. 18 near the entrance of Fowler Park along Atlanta Highway at Castleberry Drive.

A preliminary report from a traffic specialist investigator indicates a white 1999 Mack sanitation truck was traveling eastbound on Castleberry Road towards Atlanta Highway while a black 2005 Mack dump truck was traveling northbound on Atlanta Highway to the intersection.

The sanitation truck tried to turn right onto Atlanta Highway, but "the driver was unable to negotiate the turn," the sheriff's office said. The truck tipped on to its left side and slid into the northbound side of the road. The driver of the dump truck, the sheriff's office added, tried to maneuver to the right, but was unable to avoid the collision (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

The front end of the overturned sanitation truck collided with the front end of the dump truck. Both vehicles came to rest in the northbound right turn lane and shoulder of Atlanta Highway.

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The driver of the dump truck, identified as 59-year-old Thomas Wirkner of Marietta, was extricated from the vehicle and flown to an area hospital in critical condition. The driver and passenger of the sanitation truck, 38-year-old Rodrick Thompson and Ta'shaun Thomspon, 21, both of Cumming, were both pronounced dead at the scene, the agency added.

WSB-TV reports that Rodrick Thompson, who leaves behind three children, is Ta'shaun's uncle, and that the pair worked for Alpharetta-based Allegiance Sanitation.

The accident remains under investigation by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Specialist Unit.

Image via Forsyth County Sheriff's Office