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Woman injured in crash near Whitewater Middle

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

A Jonesboro woman was injured when she disregarded an off-duty officer who was directing traffic and plowed into the rear of a food delivery truck near Whitewater Middle School.

Geneva Roden Strickland, 65, the driver of a 2000 1500 Dodge Van, received facial injuries in the crash that occurred at 4:17 p.m. March 17 on Ga. Highway 95 near Christopher Drive, sheriff’s officials said.

Strickland’s van collided with a 2005 Mitsubishi FM-260 delivery truck driven by Jack Charles Johnson, 57, of Manchester.

“[An off-duty officer] was directing traffic and there was northbound traffic that he had stopped,” Fayette County Sheriff Department Traffic Enforcement Division Director Lt. Col. Wayne Hannah said. “One vehicle stopped and the other one didn’t.”

Johnson stopped as directed. However, Strickland did not and struck the truck from behind. The truck was owned by a food company based out of Forest Park.

The impact of the collision caused the doors of the van to jam and Strickland was trapped inside.

Units of the Fayetteville Fire Department, Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services and other rescue crews responded and helped free Strickland from the wreckage.

Strickland was transported by ambulance to Piedmont Fayette Hospital for treatment.

Strickland was not wearing a seat belt, Hannah said. She was cited in the accident for following too closely, Hannah said.