A woman riding a motorcycle was seriously injured when she was ejected from the bike in a crash at the Concord Road covered bridge in Cobb County.
Cobb police were dispatched to the crash at 7:22 p.m. Saturday, July 6 at the bridge, which spans Nickajack Creek just south of the East-West Connector in Smyrna.
According to investigators, a 2011 Harley Davidson Road Glide operated by 64-year-old Tasha Dyson was traveling eastbound on Concord Road when it entered the bridge and lost control.
The motorcycle hit the guard rail on the right side of the bridge, and Dyson was thrown from the bike, Cobb police said. Dyson, of Lithia Springs, was transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries. Cobb police say the crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the agency at 770-499-3987.
The Concord Road covered bridge, which has a seven-foot clearance, has been the site of about two dozen close calls since 2017 due to drivers of too-tall vehicles crashing into metal beams installed to protect the structure from destruction.
PHOTOS: Cobb's covered bridge gets new warning device
Last month, Cobb County installed another warning system to alert drivers of the bridge's low clearance. Plastic-covered PVC pipes are suspended from traffic signal mast arms along Concord Road on both sides of the bridge. County commissioners in April approved a contract with Detection Engineering Technology, Inc. to install the mast arms and pipes at a cost not to exceed $19,540.
Vehicles that are taller than the bridge's seven-foot clearance will hit the pipes, prompting them to turn around to avoid becoming another statistic of stubborn drivers trying to pass through the bridge. While large vehicles have hit the pipes, the county has not had any reports of drivers crashing into the metal beams protecting the bridge since the installation.
According to the Cobb County Police Department’s Records Unit, officers responded to six additional collisions at the covered from Jan. 1, 2018, to Jan. 1, 2019.
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