Tractor Trailer Strikes Railroad Crossing Mast

A 2002 Freightliner tractor-trailer rig struck and destroyed the railroad crossing mast and warning lights on Ga. Highway 15 at the railroad crossing around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2.

According to Police Chief Lee O'Dillon's news release, the truck had attempted to make a sharp right turn from McRee Street onto Ga. Highway 15 southward.
No one was injured but a large amount of damage was done and traffic was disrupted until a Hartwell Railroad repair crew could arrive from Social Circle.  

A 53-year-old man from Branford, Florida was charged with a no through trucks violation.

O'Dillon also reported the following incidents in the news release:

• At 5:30 a.m. Tuesday police noticed a teenager loitering around a local convenience store.  After talking with the 15-year-old boy, it was learned that he had been reported missing from Clarke County by his father a few days earlier.  The boy was taken into custody and turned over to the Athens Clarke County Police Department.  Juvenile authorities, and Athens Clarke County Department Of Family And Children Services, are involved with the situation.

• Police were called to a Thrasher Drive address on April 2 around 10:30 p.m. after the owner of a 2007 Chrysler became involved in a heated argument with a repo man.  The conflict ended when the Chrysler’s driver, and the loan company, reached a settlement over payments owed.

• At 8 a.m. on April 3, police responded to Whitehall Road at First Street after a 2001 Ford Super Duty drove into the side of a eastbound 1997 Honda CRV.  No one was injured but the Honda suffered heavy damage.  A 17-year-old man from Hull was charged with failure to yield to the right of way.

• A 2001 Volkswagen Beetle struck the back of a 2002 Chevrolet Express van on Ga. Highway 15 near Jack’s Foodmart around 11:15 a.m. on April 3.  Neither driver was injured and damage was minor. A 33-year-old woman from Union Point was cited for following too closely.

Watkinsville police responded to a total of 31 calls within city limits between April 1-7, 2013.

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