A 78-year-old Georgia man died Thursday after he lost control of his vehicle, which went airborne and crashed through the roof of a house in Macon.
Willie Smith Jr. was driving a white Chevrolet Equinox around 9 a.m. on Waverland Drive in Bibb County when he lost control, WGXA reported. The car became airborne and landed on the roof of a house on Woodland Drive. The vehicle was lodged perpendicularly and required a crane to be removed.
Paramedics treated Smith at the scene before he was transported to a local hospital, where Coroner Leon Jones pronounced him dead shortly after arrival. No other injuries were reported, and it is unknown if anyone was inside the house at the time of the crash.
Smith, who lived 13 miles north of the crash site with his wife, Gale, is survived by two children and a granddaughter. The family declined to comment when approached by reporters.
Bibb County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident and asks anyone with information to contact them at 478-751-7500.
This is the fourth fatal car accident in Bibb County this month. Previous incidents include a fatal hit-and-run on Aug. 22, a collision with an 18-wheeler on I-475 three days prior, and a woman's death from complications after being struck by a van earlier in August.
According to the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, older drivers (55 and older) accounted for 35 percent of all licensed drivers in Georgia in 2022. That same year, drivers in this age group comprised 24 percent of all drivers involved in car crashes and 20 percent of drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes. The state's Governor's Office of Highway Safety operates an Older Driver Safety Program aimed at reducing traffic accidents involving elderly drivers.