Two killed, two injured after oak tree falls onto pickup truck in Putnam County, sheriff says

Two men were killed and two others were injured Friday morning after a large oak tree fell onto a pickup truck traveling on a rural road south of Eatonton, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Howard Sills said deputies were called around 6:15 a.m. to Pea Ridge Road near its intersection with U.S. Highway 441 after a report of a serious crash.

Investigators said a 2023 Toyota four-door pickup was traveling westbound on Pea Ridge Road when a large oak tree uprooted and fell across the roadway, landing directly on the cab of the truck.

The driver, identified as 25-year-old Lucas Zane Dyal of Ellabell, Georgia, and front-seat passenger Tyler Leif Meeks, 25, also of Ellabell, were injured in the crash and taken by ambulance to a hospital in Macon.

Two backseat passengers, Logan Christopher Deal, 24, and Jakob Hogan Tapley, 25, both of Ellabell, were pronounced dead at the scene, Sills said.

The sheriff's office said the incident remains under investigation.