A terrible accident occurred at the Blue Ridge Auto Auction Tuesday night in Ellijay, Georgia. The accident led to injuries for twenty-seven of the auction’s attendees. At least six attendees were seriously injured, and many more were left shocked and appalled. During the auction, a Volvo 960 driven by a auction worker plowed into the crowd, striking some people so hard that witnesses told AJC Atlanta that the victims were knocked out of their shoes. The crowd was made up of 30 or 40 people, and there were many onlookers. A few of those in the crowd were trapped under the car on the auction block, another was thrust into a nearby wall. Thirteen people were treated at the scene. More than a dozen people were injured in the auto auction accident, and half of those remained hospitalized yesterday morning. Thankfully only one of them were still in critical condition yesterday. The others have been stabilized and will receive additinal treatment in the days ahead. Those who witnessed the event were surprised that there weren’t more victims. The auction empolyee and driver of the Volvo wasn’t hurt.
The driver of the Volvo was bringing the car to be auctioned – so what happened? The police are still investigating, but witnesses said that it seemed the Volvo’s accelerator was stuck, or that the brakes were broken. As of this posting, no charges have been filed against the driver and the investigation continues. The owner of the Blue Ridge Auto Auction continues to ask for prayers for the families and injured victims of the accident.
The serious nature of this incident and injuries will ultimately show why it is so important that everyone in Georgia must maintain underinsured motorist coverage or uninsured motorist coverage ( also commonly known UM coverage) on their peronal car insurance policies. Given the early indications of this event, it is very unlikely the Blue Ridge Auto Auction will have sufficient insurance coverage to cover all those injured in this tragic event. With UM coverage, those not covered by the Auto Auction policy(s) should be able to use their own insurance coverage to add to or supplement the coverage of those ultimately deemed to have caused the indicent.
In the interim, we too wish all those involved in this tragic incident all the best and a speedy recovery.
A partner with Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC,, Brandon Smith has devoted his practice to pharmaceutical litigation, mass torts, products liability and serious personal injury. A frequent guest speaker at legal seminars all over the country—Brandon is focused on helping injured victims nationwide, however possible. Named a SuperLawyer again in 2019, he has also been called out as one of 10 Best Attorneys For Georgia by the American Institute Of Personal Injury Attorneys and a Top 100 Lawyer in Georgia by the National Trial Lawyers in 2019.
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