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Truck driver arrested in fatal wreck
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A tractor-trailer driver from Butler has been charged with vehicular homicide after a fatal wreck Friday afternoon in Forsyth County.
Timothy Shane Spradley, 34, of Butler was northbound on Bethelview Road at Kelly Mill Road in a tractor-trailer when he ran the red light at that intersection, according to Investigator Ron Tomblin, a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office traffic specialist.
The 1998 Volvo truck, which was loaded with sod, struck a 1993 Toyota Celica on the driver’s side, instantly killing the driver, Mika Paananen, 39, of Cumming.
The Toyota went under the trailer and was dragged 237 feet before both vehicles came to a stop, according to Tomblin. Paananen was trapped in the vehicle until rescuers could free his body.
The wreck happened at about 2:50 p.m. and shut down Bethelview Road in all directions for more than an hour.
Spradley was arrested and charged with second degree vehicular homicide, failure to obey a traffic control device, operating an unsafe vehicle and operation of a vehicle without a current inspection decal. He was also charged with not having a current medical card on his person.