Ronald Fowler said he did everything he could to avoid the orange bicycle that crossed the path of his tractor-trailer Wednesday afternoon.

Eric Harmon, 16, was struck by Fowler’s tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 41, just north of Ben Putnam Road, around 1:15 p.m.. The impact knocked Harmon off his bike and threw him 55 to 65 feet which could have saved his life, said Cpl. D.C. Gleaton with the Georgia State Patrol. Harmon was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, a hospital official said.

“He was pushed forward and out of the way instead of under the vehicle,” Gleaton said. “I don’t know why he didn’t know (the truck) was coming but he didn’t.”

Harmon had a deep gash in his head when Morgan Luffman and Allen Burpee approached him. Luffman, of Dalton, got a sheet and blanket out of her car so that the Harmon would not be lying on the pavement.

“We were trying to hold him down,” Burpee said. “He was strong.”

Gleaton said no charges will be filed against Fowler, who is from Wisconsin.

Witnesses agreed Fowler could not have avoided Harmon.

Chris Planzer of Resaca said he saw the bicycle veer into the path of Fowler’s truck.

“I saw him riding on the side of the road,” Planzer said. “He cut to the left. I think he was trying to cut to the other side.”

“He tried to swerve,” Luffman said of Fowler. “It’s amazing he didn’t lay that truck down.”

Burpee, of Tunnel Hill, said he sees kids riding their bikes down U.S. 41 every day. He drives a truck for a Calhoun trucking company.

“We have to watch out for them because they don’t watch out for us,” Burpee said.

The wreck tied up traffic on U.S. 41 in both directions for about two hours.