Update: Single-Vehicle Accident Kills One in Acworth

Update 9:07 p.m.

A 58-year-old Douglasville man is dead after a single-vehicle accident this afternoon in front of Allatoona High School.

Just before 4 p.m. Friday, James H. Diethorn was driving northbound on Dallas Acworth Highway in a maroon 1994 Dodge Ram pickup truck, Cobb police Officer Mike Bowman said.

"For reasons unknown, (Diethorn) left the eastern edge of the roadway and struck a fire hydrant," he said. "The vehicle re-entered the roadway, crossed the northbound and southbound lanes of Dallas Acworth Highway and then traveled approximately 120 feet down a steep embankment on the western side of the roadway before coming to a final rest."
   
Diethorn was pronounced dead at the scene.

"It is believed that a medical condition may have contributed to the crash," Bowman said. "The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office arrived on scene and assumed jurisdiction of the body."

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call 770-499-3987.

Original story 5:41 p.m.

One person is dead after a single-vehicle accident Friday afternoon in front of Allatoona High School.

Just before 4 p.m., a vehicle hit a fire hydrant at 3300 Dallas Acworth Hwy. and went down an embankment, Cobb police Officer Mike Bowman said.

"It could possibly be medically related," he said. "That will be determined by the medical examiner's office. We won't know anything until at least next week."

Bowman did not have any other details about the fatal accident.