Over the past few days and weeks, highways in Cobb County have been closed due to scattered objects left on the road. These objects have the potential to cause serious crashes, especially for smaller vehicles. Even if the objects are too small to cause damage, they may cause drivers to veer into each other. Those injured by these kinds of Cobb County crashes may need to determine who left the dangerous objects behind.
Overturned Tractor-Trailer Blocks I-75
An overturned trailer is probably one of the most obvious examples of a hazardous object left on a highway. Trailers may become detached from tractor-trailers after various accidents, including jack-knife incidents and rollover crashes. In late February of 2025, authorities in Cobb County reported that a tractor-trailer had overturned on I-75. The trailer blocked the entire northbound section of the highway, leaving no room for vehicles to get through.
These kinds of incidents can easily cause major collisions – especially if drivers do not have time to react. If a trailer blocks an entire highway, there is no room to maneuver. Traffic congestion may lead to additional crashes. In this type of situation, it might be possible to hold the trucking company liable for the resulting injuries.
Wooden Pallets Scattered Across I-75 After Truck Accident
A day later, another semi-truck accident occurred on I-75 – scattering wooden pallets across the southbound lanes. This caused Georgia State Patrol to completely shut down the southbound section for hours while authorities worked to clear away the pallets.
This crash was caused by a pickup truck that was following the semi-truck too closely. A rear-end accident subsequently caused the trailer to tear open, spilling the wooden pallets onto the road. This accident caused serious injuries for both the trucker and the pickup truck driver – but it could have been worse.
These scattered wooden pallets represented a major safety hazard to everyone else on the road. Many vehicles – especially smaller sedans – are not capable of running over wooden pallets without crashing or incurring heavy damage.
If a following vehicle had crashed into one of these pallets, a complex injury claim in Cobb County might have occurred. One might argue that both the trucking company and the pickup truck driver were partially responsible for the incident.
Objects Falling From Semi-Trucks Can Cause Serious Damage
While pallets and entire trailers can cause obvious hazards, even relatively small objects can prove fatal if they fall off semi-trucks at high speed. Some semi-trucks have lost entire wheels on Georgia highways. These wheels can impact nearby vehicles, causing catastrophic damage and fatal injuries.
A metal object – like a hydraulics component – could also detach from a semi-truck before smashing straight through a windshield and causing fatal injuries to a driver or passenger.
Dump trucks can be particularly dangerous in this context. These vehicles often carry all kinds of junk and scrap metal in open-topped trailers. A small bump or tight corner could cause these objects to spill out before causing catastrophic injuries to nearby motorists.