By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A Fairburn woman was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when her car collided with a dump truck on New Hope Road near Ga. Hwy 92.

She was flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center. Her condition was not available Thursday afternoon.|

Only one of the three children who were in the car with Watkins had visible injuries, said Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. That child was entrapped briefly, Nelms added.

The impact of the collision trapped Watkins inside the vehicle and it took over half an hour for emergency crews to free her. She was in serious condition when she left the scene, Nelms added.

The driver of the dump truck was not injured, although it overturned and landed in a ditch.

Maj. Wayne Hannah of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said Watkins’s Cadillac crossed the center line of the road and ran underneath the truck.

The accident is still under investigation, but two witnesses confirmed that Watkins crossed the center line, causing her car to hit the truck, Hannah said. One of the witnesses was ahead of the dump truck and blew her horn after noticing Watkins had crossed the center line.

Watkins corrected the path of the vehicle, but as her car neared the truck, it veered into the truck’s path, Hannah said.
All the children in Watkins’s car were in the back seat and buckled up, which helped keep their injuries to a minimum, Hannah said.

The firefighters working the accident were provided relief from the heat from neighbors in the area who brought ice, water and cokes, Nelms said. The neighbors were also very concerned for the family, and it was good to see that kind of community spirit, he added.