Truck crashes around the Port of Savannah.

AFTER A PORT TRUCK CRASH

Where do truck crashes around the port happen?

Most port truck crashes happen on the short list of roads that carry containers between the Georgia Ports Authority terminals and the interstates. Those roads include I-16, I-95, I-516, Highway 21, Highway 25, Dean Forest Road and Jimmy DeLoach Parkway. A crash on port property can also bring in a state authority and its own police.

If a tractor-trailer or a container truck hit you, you’re probably dealing with more than one other driver. There may be a trucking company, a company that owns the trailer and whoever loaded the cargo. Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. handles these cases from our team at 1 Bull Street. Across Georgia we’ve recovered more than $5 billion for over 300,000 clients in 45 years, from 9 offices, and there’s zero fee unless we win.

Don’t sign anything a trucking company or its insurer sends you, and don’t give a recorded statement, before we talk. Big-rig claims move fast in the first few days. The call is free.

Which roads do port trucks use?

Trucks leaving Garden City Terminal head for I-16 and I-95, and the Ports Authority says the two interstates meet about five miles from the port. In between, trucks use a handful of state routes and newer connectors. Knowing which road you were on helps us figure out who worked the crash and whose rules apply.

Road	Where it runs	What to know
I-16	West from downtown Savannah toward Macon	Ocean Terminal has its own truck exit ramp onto US-17 and I-16
I-95	North and south through western Chatham County	Trucks reach it from Highway 21 and from Jimmy DeLoach Parkway
I-516	A loop through Savannah with its west end at Highway 21	The new Brampton Road Connector links Garden City Terminal to it
Highway 21 (Augusta Road)	From Garden City north through Port Wentworth to I-95, then on into Effingham County	A busy trucking route past the terminals
Highway 25 (Main Street, then Coastal Highway)	From Garden City north through Port Wentworth to the bridge into South Carolina	Carries local and port traffic toward the state line
Highway 307 (Dean Forest Road)	From I-16 north past the airport to Highway 21	An overpass here leads to the main gate of Garden City Terminal
Jimmy DeLoach Parkway	From I-95 east toward the port	Gives trucks a direct route between the port and I-95, with Grange Road leading to the terminal’s Gate 8
Brampton Road Connector	From Garden City Terminal’s Gate 3 to I-516	A four-lane road that opened in July 2026

New roads change where crashes happen. The Brampton Road Connector opened in July 2026 to take trucks off neighborhood streets and railroad crossings. The Ports Authority also plans to extend Jimmy DeLoach Parkway from I-95 to I-16. If your crash happened in a work zone or on a road that just opened, tell us. The State may be involved.

Trucks on these roads crash like any other traffic, only harder. In July 2025, a tractor-trailer jackknifed on I-95 north near Highway 21, and the Georgia State Patrol investigated. The driver was seriously hurt. In September 2025, a wreck involving semi-trucks shut down Jimmy DeLoach Parkway at Crossroads Parkway, and Savannah police responded to one injury. In July 2026, a semi knocked down traffic signals at Highway 21 and Rice Mill Road in Port Wentworth.

Who has your report after a port truck crash?

It depends on exactly where the truck hit you. Savannah police work crashes inside the city, and Chatham County police work unincorporated areas. Garden City and Port Wentworth have their own departments. On port property, the Georgia Ports Authority’s own police department writes the report. On the interstates, it’s often the Georgia State Patrol.

Where it happened	Who usually has your report
Inside Savannah city limits, such as Jimmy DeLoach Parkway at Crossroads Parkway	Savannah Police Department
Unincorporated Chatham County, meaning outside any city’s limits	Chatham County Police Department
Inside Garden City	Garden City Police Department
Inside Port Wentworth, including Highway 21 north toward I-95	Port Wentworth Police Department
On a port terminal or other Ports Authority property	Georgia Ports Authority Police, Records Unit, 100 Main Street, Garden City
I-95, I-16 and other serious interstate crashes	Often the Georgia State Patrol
Highway 21 north of the Chatham County line	Effingham County agencies

For a Ports Authority police report, contact the Records Unit at 100 Main Street in Garden City, or write to GPA Police Department, Attn: Police Records, P.O. Box 2406, Savannah, GA 31402. Bring the case report number from the officer’s card, or the date and the exact location. For a crash report, you’ll sign a short statement explaining why you need it.

The port also runs on its own rules. A crash on terminal grounds, or one involving port equipment or a port employee, can bring in a state authority. That can mean a different notice process and different records, so we won’t put a number on it here. Call us, and we’ll sort out which rules fit your crash.

The other Chatham County agencies are covered in step-by-step help getting a Chatham County report. If the crash was north of the county line on Highway 21, see our page on crashes north of the line in Rincon, where Effingham County handles things differently.

Not sure which agency came? Call 912-715-9288. Give us the date and the nearest exit, gate or cross street, and we’ll find the report.

What do the trucking words on your paperwork mean?

Port truck claims come with their own vocabulary. You may hear about drayage, a chassis, a case report number and an ante litem notice. Knowing what each one means helps you follow what the adjuster is asking, which records matter, and why a crash on port property can follow a different set of rules.

Drayage is a short truck haul, usually moving a container between the port and a nearby warehouse or rail yard. A chassis is the wheeled trailer frame a shipping container rides on. The chassis can belong to a different company than the truck or the container, which is one reason these claims can involve several companies.

The case report number, or CRN, is the number on the card the officer hands you. Ports Authority police ask for it, and it’s the fastest way to find a report. An ante litem notice, Latin for “before the suit,” is a formal letter you must send a city, a county or the State before you can sue it. Miss it, and the claim can be lost.

A state authority is a public body created by Georgia law to do a specific job. The Georgia Ports Authority is one. A claim against it can follow different rules than a claim against a private trucking company.

Why is a port truck crash different from a car wreck?

A loaded container truck is many times heavier than a car, so injuries tend to be worse. Truck drivers also follow federal safety rules that limit how long they can drive before they rest. Driving logs and the truck’s own data can show what went wrong, and the sooner someone asks for them, the better your chances of getting them.

Our Savannah truck accident attorneys look at the driver’s hours, the truck’s condition and every company tied to the load. Some drivers who stay close to the port fall under different federal hour rules, so the details matter.

If you were in a car when the truck hit you, our car accident attorneys in Savannah handle that side of the claim too. If a truck crash took someone you love, our attorneys for families after a fatal truck crash will explain who can bring a claim in Georgia and move at a pace your family can handle.

Most Georgia injury lawsuits must generally be filed within two years. Claims against a city, a county or the State have shorter notice deadlines, and the Chatham County notice deadline table lays them out. A claim involving the Ports Authority can follow its own process. We won’t guess at that deadline here. Call us, and we’ll check it against your facts.

Was a port vehicle, a government truck or port property involved? Call 912-715-9288 this week. Notice deadlines for government claims can come up fast.

What should you do this week?

Get medical care first, and keep every bill and discharge paper. Write down the company name and any numbers painted on the truck’s cab or trailer, and take photos if you can. Then call us before you talk to any trucking company or insurer. We’ll request the report and ask that the truck’s records be kept.

You don’t have to come downtown to get started, because a lot of the early work happens by phone. When you’re ready, office hours and directions in Savannah are on our Savannah page. Too hurt to travel? Tell us, and we’ll come to you.