DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A terrible crash involving a Douglas County fire truck shut down Interstate 20 for hours early Sunday morning.
Authorities are still trying to figure out what caused a truck driver to slam into the fire truck while it was responding to another wreck.
Firefighters spent some of the day on Sunday retrieving and trying to salvage what they could from the now totaled ladder truck.
"You know, looking at it, it was a horrific crash," said Rick Martin, Douglas County director of communications.
County officials said that at about 3 a.m., fire crews responded to an incident involving a Ford Mustang that had run off of I-20 near the Fairburn Road exit and into some nearby woods.
The fire truck was being used as a barrier to protect other emergency vehicles and workers. About 20 minutes after they arrived on the scene, a tractor-trailer smashed into the rear of the fire truck. Officials said two firefighters were still buckled up inside the truck when the semi smashed into it - something officials believe saved their lives.
While the firefighters were OK, and refused treatment on the scene, officials said the driver of the semi, 41-year-old Javon Martin of Honea Path, South Carolina, was killed on impact.
"We are saddened," Martin said. "We are extremely saddened that someone lost their life as a result."
Sunday's deadly wreck is not the first one in recent months involving emergency vehicles and construction vehicles on metro Atlanta interstates.
There was a similar accident in April.
Cobb County fire officials said a fire truck responding to a similar wreck between Thornton Road and Riverside Parkway, near Six Flags over Georgia, and was parked, was struck by a car, leading to a fire.
In May, an Atlanta firefighter was struck in a wreck on I-85 near Cleveland Avenue. A car struck a fire truck from behind, which caused the firefighter to lose one of his legs in the wreck.
Just a week ago, 21-year-old construction worker Chad Mickler was struck and killed in a construction zone on I-285 near Cascade Road by a suspected drunk driver.
Days later, two contractors were seriously hurt while removing barrels from a construction zone on I-20 near Lee Road after they were struck in the midst of a multi-vehicle chain-reaction wreck involving a stolen pick-up truck.
It has been three years since Georgia lawmakers passed the state's 'Move Over' law.
The law was passed after a growing number of first responders and DOT workers were killed or injured during routine traffic stops, crash scenes and highway construction projects.
The fine for violating the Move Over law in Georgia can be as much as $500, but leads to more serious consequences.
We have reached out to the Georgia State Patrol, who is investigating, in order to determine the cause of the wreck. As of this point, they have yet to respond.