TIFTON — A four-vehicle wreck early Thursday morning on Interstate 75 claimed the life of a tractor trailer driver, the Georgia State Patrol reported.

Jerry Oblinger, 61, of Lakeland, Fla. died around 4 a.m. Thursday when the 2000 Volvo tractor pulling double trailers he was driving smashed into the trailer of another tractor in the center northbound lane of Interstate 75 between exits 60 and 61.

Sgt. Don Whitaker of the GSP said that traffic was nearly stopped at that section of the Interstate because of crews striping the road in a construction zone.

He said a law enforcement unit was pacing traffic to keep it going slow but that Oblinger was unable to stop his truck in time. He said there were 249 feet of skid marks from the tractor’s attempt to stop.

“Mr. Oblinger realized to late,” he said.

Whitaker said the tractor, owned by Yellow Transportation Inc., plowed into the trailer of a 2000 Freightliner owned by Duck Transport of California and driven by Francisco Villalobos, 40, of Escondido, Ca.

“When Mr. Oblinger hit the Freightliner — the Duck Transport truck — the front of his tractor wedged under the front of the trailer,” he said.

Whitaker said the motor of the Volvo was pushed back into the cab of the truck by the impact, crushing the driver.

“The driver was killed on impact, but the vehicle kept moving,” he said.

The impact of the tractor into the trailer forced the trailer into the cab of the Freightliner and pushed the tractor forward into another vehicle, a Hyundai driven by Wilma Rachel, 57, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Hyundai was pushed forward into a collision with an Averitt Express Inc. truck being driven by Dale Miles, 57, of Rock Island, Tenn.

The Volvo tractor continued rolling and drifted to the emergency strip on the side of the highway, brushing against a guard rail until it came to a stop.

Three other people complained of injuries from the accident, but none were transported for medical treatment.

Whitaker said that Oblinger was the at-fault driver and no charges will be filed in relation to the incident.