The truck, headed east just past the Grove­town exit, blew a tire, swerved from the highway, crashed through a guardrail and rolled into a deep ditch in the median shortly after 2 p.m., authorities said.

It took about 30 minutes for Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue workers to pull the man from the overturned vehicle and get him to a helicopter ambulance.

He was identified as May Hughes Wimberly, 48, of Waynes­boro, Ga.

He was in critical condition Monday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

While traffic backed up as emergency crews were working, a man in a stopped vehicle apparently had a heart attack and required emergency treatment.

He had been on his way to a hospital for medical care, and his symptoms worsened while stuck in traffic.