The South Carolina Highway Patrol said Tuesday the driver of a tractor-trailer that overturned on the Back River Bridge about 11:45 a.m. has died.

Kenneth Dwuane Smith, 54, of Waynesville, Ga., was identified as the driver of the cement pump truck that struck a curb on the bridge while traveling south on U.S. 17.

The vehicle overturned and partially burst through a length of concrete guard rails, said Land Cpl. Bob Beres, South Carolina Highway Patrol spokesman.

 Savannah Fire & Emergency Services workers responded to the accident and worked for nearly two hours to extricate the driver’s body, said Mark Keller, Savannah Fire spokesman.

 About 3:30 p.m., workers were able to turn the truck upright, Keller said.

The Talmadge and Back River bridges reopened to traffic about 7 p.m. Tuesday, Beres said

Wednesday, the bridge will be open to one lane of traffic from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., while the department of transportation works to repair damage to cement guard rails and curbing, said Craig Solomon, Georgia Department of Transportation spokesman..

Solomon said travelers will be able to cross the bridge from either direction using the north bound lane as guided by a pilot vehicle. 

Beres said the collision is continuing to be investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and travelers are asked to avoid the area.

What actually happened

That's a horrific accident,my heart goes out to family.

Having been a pilot of those 28m's they would launch into orbit just as the witness has stated.In principle I agree,the culprit probably was the approach.

I remember going over a bridge in Northern La years ago on a 36m putz mounted on a Volvo and coming inches from jumping the railing due to a approach problem I was doing a max of 35 mph and I was very fotunate I did not lose complete control and jump the rail.

I just drove over that bridge Sunday and yes it is pretty bad. From the sounds of the witness statement he was a hero and gave up his life making sure he didnt take someone elses. More than likely had he hit someone head on they would have been killed. Hopefully the state will realize this problem now and fix it. It is just a shame that it may take something like this for them to take action.This is very sad and my condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

I once drove a 52 schwing on a high way about 50 mph.. Then there were some strange bumps.. I seriously hit my head against the cieling hard.. There was no warning signs.. 1 year later the bumps where still there.

I think a lot of the people responsible for the roads don't know what happens in a heavy truck when you hit hard bumps. Some speed bumps in our town you can take with a normal car doing 50mph comfortably while with the pump I almost have to go down to about 10 mph.. I wish one of those guys would sit along with me one day and I would make him feel it in his head!!

I can imagine what happened to this guy. I feel very sorry for him. Hope they do something about this road.

The roads here in California are worse than the roads in Japan right now. I just dont understand how we can let them get so bad. Tire and wheel damage is common today. When the biggest thing we have to worry about is our roads jumping out and killing us than I say its about time we fix our roads. I feel so sorry for this family, the loss is so great. Our prayers go out to them.

Bad roads in California, Todd? Here in Seattle they're so bad we have "The Pothole Rangers". It's several dump trucks and crews that drive around and fill potholes all day. Unfortunately with the freeze/thaw cycles we've had this year they're so far behind they won't ever get caught up. We've got a couple of bad spots on our highways up here that'll make you think you're heading to the Moon...

sorry to hear it ,pumped some mud with them.pretty good group of fellas.god bless the family.

Its very sad. Cherokee Concrete Pumping is a very good company and so well liked. This is such a bad deal. Our prayers go out to you guys at Cherokee and to the family of the operator.