A 78-year-old Georgia man died Thursday morning after the vehicle he was driving went airborne and crashed through the roof of a house in Macon.
Willie Smith Jr. was reportedly driving on Waverland Drive around 9 a.m. when he lost control of his white Chevrolet Equinox. The vehicle became airborne and landed in the roof of a home in the 1900 block of Woodland Drive, according to WGXA. The car was lodged perpendicular to the roof upon impact and required a crane for removal.
Paramedics treated Smith at the scene before he was transported to a hospital. Coroner Leon Jones pronounced him dead shortly after his arrival. No other injuries were reported, and it is unknown if anyone was inside the home at the time of the crash.
Smith lived approximately 13 miles from the crash site. He is survived by his wife, two children, and a granddaughter.
This incident marks the fourth fatal car accident in Bibb County this month. Previous fatalities include a 30-year-old man in a hit-and-run on August 22, a 29-year-old man killed by an 18-wheeler on I-475 three days prior, and a 42-year-old woman who died from complications after being struck by a van earlier in the month.
The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety operates an Older Driver Safety Program aimed at reducing traffic accidents involving elderly drivers. Data from 2022 indicates that drivers aged 55 and older constituted 35 percent of licensed drivers in Georgia, 24 percent of drivers involved in car crashes, and 20 percent of drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes.
Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding this fatal accident to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 and ask to speak with a Fatality Investigator.