City of Lawrenceville Employee in Critical Condition Following Accident

Update: 4:46pm - Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson has identified the victim as Otis Johnson. Click here to read the Mayor's statement regarding Mr. Johnson.

A City of Lawrenceville employee is in critical condition after a tree limb fell on his truck.

At about 1:30pm, the employee was driving a city owned white Ford Ranger on the 100 block of Stone Mountain Street near the intersection of Constitution Blvd. The Monday afternoon’s heavy wind and rain caused a limb from an old oak tree to come crashing down on the cab of his truck. The truck then continued through the intersection for about another block before crashing into the back of a Chevy S-10 pickup truck.

The second truck was stopped in the road after being involved in a minor accident that occurred just moments before. A white Ford Expedition that was involved in the first accident suffered minor damage was able to drive off from the scene.

Airbags in the city truck went off during the crash. The Jaws of Life had to be used to free the city employee from his vehicle. “The city worker is at Gwinnett Medical Center in critical condition at this time,” said Lawrenceville Police Sgt. Christopher Ralston. “Driver of the S-10 was also transported to Gwinnett Medical Center,” added Ralston. “His condition is not known at this time, but he is not believed to be in critical condition at this time.”

A cherry picker was brought in to take overhead photographs of the scene. “Due to the nature of the injuries, we’re doing a more complete investigation of this than we would a minor fender bender,” said LPD Capt. Jeff Smith.

On the other side of the intersection, near the Matt Todd Elite Hair Studio, City of Lawrenceville crews were working to restore power to the homes and businesses on the block. “When the limb came down, it also brought down wires and cut off electricity in the area.”

Both sides of Stone Mountain Street at Constitution were closed while LPD investigated the accident.