Macon Man Dies After Car Smashes Into House

Willie Smith Jr., 78 years old, died after his white Chevrolet Equinox went airborne and smashed into the roof of a house in Macon, Georgia. The crash happened on Thursday morning around 9am on Waverland Drive inside Bibb County. WGXA reported the details immediately following the incident.

The vehicle struck the home at the 1900 block of Woodland Drive with such force that it landed perpendicular to the structure. Emergency crews could not move the car by hand, so a crane was required to remove it from the wreckage. Paramedics provided initial care before rushing him to the hospital. Coroner Leon Jones pronounced him dead shortly after he arrived.

Police have confirmed no other injuries occurred during this specific event. It remains unknown if anyone was inside the house when the impact happened. Smith lived thirteen miles north of the crash site with his wife, Gale, who is also 78. He leaves behind a son, a daughter, and a granddaughter. The family declined to speak to reporters from the Daily Mail regarding their loss.

Authorities urge anyone with information about this fatal accident to call the Bibb County Sheriff's Office at 478-751-7500. You must ask specifically to speak with a Fatality Investigator when you dial. This incident marks the fourth deadly car crash in Bibb County for this month alone.

On August 22, a thirty-year-old man died in a hit-and-run case on the 6200 block of Forsyth Road in north Macon, according to The Local Alert. Three days before that event, a twenty-nine-year-old man was struck by an eighteen-wheeler while traveling on I-475. Earlier in the month, a forty-two-year-old woman died from injuries after being hit by a white van near Houston Avenue and Charlotte Street.

The Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety currently operates the Older Driver Safety Program to reduce accidents involving seniors behind the wheel. This initiative aims to lower crash rates as the population of elderly drivers grows over time. Data obtained in 2022 shows older drivers, defined as those fifty-five and up, make up thirty-five percent of all licensed drivers in Georgia. These same drivers account for twenty-four percent of all drivers involved in car crashes and twenty percent of those in motor vehicle collisions according to GGOHS records.