A Statesboro man was killed in a two-vehicle wreck Monday morning at the intersection of Fair Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway, highlighting, once again, the long history of dangerous crashes at the site.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, a Hyundai Elantra heading south on Fair Road did not at a red light and a tractor-trailer going west on the bypass struck with the driver's side of the Hyundai.

While Statesboro Fire Department personnel were able to extricate the man from the car, Bulloch County Coroner Chuck Francis pronounced him dead at the scene. 

Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny and Police Chief Mike Broadhead have noted previously that the Fair Road/Veterans Memorial Parkway intersection has been repeatedly identified as the city's most frequent traffic crash location.

In the Statesboro Police Department's 2023 report, 145 crashes were reported at the Fair Road intersection, double the 68 crashes at the Northside Drive East intersection, the next highest incidents of wrecks.

In fact, the Fair Road intersection had the highest number of crashes, investigated by the SPD, of any location in the city limits for at least six consecutive years between 2018 and 2023.

In May 2024, the Georgia Department of Transportation engineers, following a safety audit of Fair Road out to its intersection with Veterans Memorial Parkway, recommend constructing a large roundabout at the intersection to improve safety conditions.

Penny and Assistant City Manager Jason Boyles expressed support for the roundabout.

"A roundabout really is the best way to save lives. It's the safest measure, to have that roundabout. …," Penny said at the time. "When I look at the bypass, the bypass is to help move traffic around our city, and it's an asset, but the people who use the bypass act like it is … I-95 or I-16, because the cars are moving so fast, and this is a bad intersection."

Boyles noted a fatal pedestrian accident that occurred at another bypass intersection and said the roundabout would be safer for pedestrians, too.

Also, last month the Georgia DOT announced a "dilemma zone" detection system would be installed at the Fair Road/bypass intersection to reduce potential traffic-light crashes.

The dilemma zone refers to the critical area approaching an intersection where drivers must decide whether to stop or proceed as the signal turns yellow. The area often presents significant safety risks and can lead to accidents if drivers misjudge when to stop or go.

Using radar, the technology can sense when drivers cannot safely stop before the intersection or proceed through it before the light turns red. If a vehicle is traveling too fast, a sensor would trigger the yellow light times to adjust based on vehicle speed and deceleration.