JEFF DAVIS COUNTY, GA — A devastating crash Thursday evening left four dead—including two young children—after a violent head-on collision sparked a fiery explosion on a rural Georgia highway. The Georgia State Patrol confirmed the tragedy occurred around 7:40 p.m. at the intersection of GA Highway 27 and Eureka Church Road, one of the deadliest accidents in the county’s recent history.
Preliminary investigations reveal a Chevrolet Avalanche driven by 28-year-old Nicholas Coleman of Hazlehurst crossed into oncoming traffic, striking a tractor-trailer with catastrophic force. The impact immediately ignited both vehicles, creating an inferno that could be seen for miles. Coleman perished alongside his two toddlers—a 1-year-old and 2-year-old—while the truck driver, 42-year-old Jason Goodwin of Elgin, South Carolina, also died at the scene.
First responders described confronting unimaginable devastation as they arrived at the crash site. “The heat was so intense we couldn’t get close for nearly twenty minutes,” said Jeff Davis County Fire Chief Mark Williams, his voice breaking during a Friday press conference. The blaze burned so fiercely that authorities needed dental records to confirm some victims’ identities.
The tragedy has left this tight-knit agricultural community in shock. Coleman’s neighbors recalled him as a devoted father who worked at a local pecan farm, while Goodwin’s trucking company remembered him as a safety-conscious driver with a million accident-free miles. Highway 27 remained closed for twelve hours as accident reconstruction teams documented the scene—their measurements showing the Avalanche had crossed the center line by nearly eight feet at impact.
As investigators work to determine whether mechanical failure, driver impairment, or another factor caused the deadly swerve, the Georgia DOT announced plans to install rumble strips and additional lighting at the intersection. The victims’ families have requested privacy as they prepare joint funeral services for the Coleman children—services that will be covered by a community fundraiser that has already surpassed $50,000 in donations.
