Driver Charged In Tractor Trailer Wreck That Snarled Traffic

By KRISTAL DIXON (Patch Staff)

A local man has been charged in connection with last week’s interstate wreck involving a tractor trailer and a fuel tanker that shut down S.R. 400 for hours.

Duluth resident Howard Silverstein, 64, the motorist behind the wheel of a 2015 Kia Sorento, has been charged by Sandy Springs police with failure to maintain lane, the agency said on Thursday.

The police department’s investigation into the crash showed Silverstein allegedly “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 said.

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.

Momon said both the tractor trailer and 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 was cited and released for the charges, and is scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. Nov. 23.

You can view the video of the crash above.

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Photo and video credits: Sandy Springs police