GDOT Quits Lawsuit in Excavator Bridge Damage

By: Alba Rosa
Source: The Macon Telegraph (TNS)

The Georgia Department of Transportation has pulled out of a lawsuit that accused a Macon towing company of causing $1 million worth of structural damage to a bridge, court records from Tuesday show.

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GDOT sought over $1 million from Mike Adams Towing Company, accusing it of striking the bottom of the bridge on Huber County Road in Twiggs County—owned by GDOT—and causing structural damage, the lawsuit filed on May 22 said. However, court records from Tuesday show that the GDOT had dismissed the lawsuit against the towing company without explanation. Excavator caused damage, lawsuit says

The department accused a Mike Adams Towing Company employee of causing the damage, saying an excavator attached to the trailer of his truck hit the bridge, according to the lawsuit. The driver was heading east on Interstate 16 in Twiggs County in May 2021 when he allegedly “failed to lower the excavator’s bucket arm to a level at which it would be able to pass under the bridge without damage,” according to court records.

Repairs done to the bridge cost about $1.07 million, the GDOT had alleged in court records.

The GDOT argued the driver was negligent because he “misjudged the clearance of the overpass bridge, negligently loaded and transported the excavator and negligently struck the bridge, causing it damage,” which they allege violates Georgia law. Both the employee and Mike Adams Towing responded to the lawsuit, claiming they were “without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations,” court records show.

The department requested a jury trial and damages for about $1.07 million, court records say.

The attorneys for the towing company and the GDOT did not respond to requests for comment.