Construction worker hit, killed by semi on S. Main
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Atmore police continued this week their examination of the circumstances surrounding the March 26 death of a Georgia man who was killed instantly when an 18-wheeler ran over him as he walked in the southernmost traffic lanes of South Main Street.
Police Chief Chuck Brooks said this week that Clemente Terrance Sims, 31, of Iron City, Ga. probably died instantly when he was hit by the rig’s tractor and dragged several feet beneath its trailer around 1:39 a.m.
Brooks confirmed that Sims was employed by one of the contractors helping build the $87 million Coastal Growers peanut shelling plant here.
Police reports show that the fatal collision reportedly happened “around the 1700 block of South Main Street,” between OYO Motel, where Sims and his co-workers were reportedly staying, and Johnson Ford.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, which is owned by Billy Barnes Enterprises of Frisco City, told police he was unable to avoid a collision when he rounded a curve and found the construction worker in his headlights.
The truck driver was not injured. Neither was he named or charged with any traffic violations. Brooks said company records show he was on an early morning run, possibly to Pensacola.
“According to the company’s logs, (the driver) clocked in around 8:00 (p.m.),” he said. “When he got loaded, he apparently headed out to deliver his load.”
The police chief said investigators could not completely discount the possibility that alcohol consumption — on the part of the victim, not the driver — might have played a part in the fatal mishap.
“Really, it’s pending the results of the forensics reports, including toxicology,” he said. “We’re not saying that (alcohol was a factor) right now, but he was walking in the middle of the road around 1:30 in the morning.”