Driver Who Caused GA-400, I-285 Crash Gets Fine, Probation

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The Gwinnett County man who was charged with causing two trucks to plunge from Interstate 285 onto S.R. 400 in late September has been given his sentence for the accident.

Duluth resident Howard Silverstein was ordered to pay a $500 fine and was placed on probation for a year for the Sept. 25 multi-vehicle accident, according to WSB-TV.

Silverstein was behind the wheel of a Kia Sorento that Sandy Springs police say caused the accident, which occurred late in the morning and tied up traffic for hours.

According to the investigation performed by the agency, Silverstein “failed to maintain his lane of travel, entered the path and lane on 285 eastbound already occupied by the Publix tractor trailer,” police spokesperson Sgt. Ron Monon previously told Patch.

According to the investigation, the Kia’s right front tire hit the left front tire and rim of the tractor trailer, which caused the Kia’s tire to go flat. After it was hit by the Kia, the tractor trailer veered to the right and hit the fuel tanker.

The tractor trailer and the fuel tanker went over a concrete barrier on I-285. The Publix truck came to a rest upside down on S.R. 400 while hitting a 2004 Honda Civic in the process. The fuel tanker “slid down a grass embankment” and came to a rest against a guard rail, Momon added.

Silverstein, who pleaded guilty on Monday to failure to maintain charges, said “the world seemed to come to an end” following the collision with the Publix truck, WSB-TV said.

Judge Sharon Dickson told the court that the September accident was Silverstein’s sixth traffic citation in the last five years, the station added.

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Photo credits: Capt. Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department