Father calls for changes to road

Michael Weintraub doesn’t blame anyone for his adopted son’s death on River Road last week, but he wants something done.

“I don’t hold anybody responsible for my son’s death, but I do hold everybody responsible if the steps aren’t taken to fix that road,” he said.

Johnny Lee Weintraub, 32, was killed in an Oct. 14 collision in the 4900 block of River Road around 4 a.m., after a second driver, Gregory Lewis Wingrove, 28, crossed the center line and hit him. Both were Plant Vogtle employees and the third and fourth fatalities on the road in 2019.

On Tuesday, a multiple-vehicle crash at River Road and Collins Road left two people injured.

Weintraub plans to ask the Georgia Department of Transportation conduct a safety audit on River Road. The study, organized by the department, brings together representatives from local governments, affected stakeholder groups, department personnel and other traffic engineering experts to improve road safety.

The audit identifies short-term, intermediate and long-term solutions, which the Transportation Department considers along with local governments to make changes.

“The road safety audit will find out that road is insufficient for the amount of traffic. I’m hopeful that they decide to widen the road, mark it better, put barriers on the sides, perhaps boulevard the road,” he said. “There are things they can do, but what am I hopeful that they do? What they are mandated to do, to make the roads safer for everybody, so Johnny is the last person to die on it needlessly.”

Burke County Manager Merv Waldrop said the county has requested help from the state Transportation Department to conduct a study at dangerous intersections. The state owns River Road from Highway 56 to State Route 88, while the county owns it from State Route 88 to the county line.

“I think where the accident happened was not at an intersection. It was due to speed or crossing the center line, and a traffic study is not going to help people slow down or stay on their side of the road,” Waldrop said. “We’ve got some intersections that have some problems and we are looking at those intersections.”

Waldrop doesn't know when the county will get the department's assistance, and it doesn't have an engineering staff to conduct its own study, so the options are waiting for the state or hiring a private consultant. He said there have been discussions with Georgia Power, but the bottom line is that people need to slow down.

“We’ve got law enforcement working it every day, trying to get people to slow down,” Waldrop said. “You would be amazed at how fast folks have been flying up and down that road.”

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office has increased enforcement on the road since 2017. There were 113 citations and warnings written on River Road from May 2017 to December 2017, 578 citations in 2018 and 394 citations as of Oct. 1, 2019, according to the sheriff's office.

Georgia Power said in a statement that Plant Vogtle leadership is discussing ways to make the road safer with Burke County law enforcement.

“The company also continues to reinforce the importance of safe driving habits to the Plant Vogtle workforce,” the statement said.

Weintraub hopes his son’s death was not in vain.

“Everybody is going to go. My son left with courage and dignity. He left gorgeous children. Our responsibility is to the future, and the future requires us to fix things when they need to be fixed, regardless of convenience or expense,” he said. “I want Johnny to be the last death on that road due to a dangerous situation.”

Citations/warnings

2019: 394 (as of Oct. 1)

2018: 578

2017: 113 (May-December)

Traffic fatalities

2019: 4 (8 total in county)

2018: 3 (12 total in county)

2017: 1 (12 total in county)

Source: Burke County Sheriff's Office

River Road statistics