Emerson Police, Bartow County EMS, and Bartow County Fire were dispatched to I-75 northbound just north of Red Top Mountain Road Exit 285 on Wednesday morning at 6:20 to a two-vehicle crash.
First Responders arrived on the scene to find a white Ford E-250 full-size van on its roof on the right shoulder with three occupants. Two were deceased. The driver, 40-year-old Armondo Pompa-Nateras, was transported by Bartow County EMS to Cartersville Medical Center for evaluation with no obvious injuries. The two deceased passengers were 33-year-old Cesar Estevez of Norcross and 47-year-old Manual Ramirez of Lilburn.
The other vehicle involved was a semi-trailer truck belonging to Holland Trucking from Holland, Michigan. The driver, Rodney Damm of Troy, Illinois, was not injured and not at fault.
The cause of the crash was determined to be the blowout of the driver’s side rear tire on the van. This caused the driver to lose control. The van went into a spin and overturned, coming to a rest on its roof. After the van lost control and went over into the lane of travel in front of the semi-trailer truck, the truck struck the van.
No charges are expected to be made at this time.