Atlanta, Georgia: Driver Killed in I-285 Crash Caused by Stalled Vehicle Near Chamblee Tucker Road

ATLANTA, Ga. - A driver died early Friday on Interstate 285 in DeKalb County after a stalled vehicle in the roadway set off a multivehicle crash near the Interstate 85 interchange, police said.

The crash happened just after 4 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, where I-285 northbound meets I-85, near Chamblee Tucker Road. DeKalb County police were called to the scene after a report of a multivehicle crash. On Friday afternoon, the DeKalb County Police Department said the crash was caused by a stalled vehicle sitting in the roadway. The driver of that stalled vehicle died. One other person was taken to a hospital with injuries. Police did not release the name of the driver who died, and they did not describe the condition of the person taken to the hospital.

All northbound lanes closed at Exit 34

The investigation shut down all northbound lanes of I-285 at Exit 34, the Chamblee Tucker Road exit, during the morning. At least three vehicles were involved, according to the first reports from the scene. Delays stretched back to the Stone Mountain Freeway as officers rerouted traffic before it reached the crash. Drivers were advised to use Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Claremont Road or the Downtown Connector to get around the closure. I-285 is the Perimeter highway that circles Atlanta, and the I-85 interchange on the northeast side is one of the busiest junctions in the metro area, so a full northbound closure in the early morning pushed traffic onto surface streets across DeKalb County.

Police said the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Investigators have not said why the vehicle was stalled in the roadway, whether it had broken down or run out of fuel, or in what order the other vehicles struck it. No charges were announced on Friday. Police have not said when the full findings will be released.

The I-285 crash was one of two wrecks that slowed metro Atlanta highways before sunrise. In west Atlanta, an overturned car on westbound Interstate 20 at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive left traffic moving in one lane on Friday morning, and drivers were advised to use Hollowell Parkway to avoid that crash. The two crashes were separate incidents in different parts of the metro area.

For drivers on the northeast Perimeter, the Friday closure is a reminder of how fast a single stalled vehicle can shut the corridor. Police have not identified the driver who died, pending notification of family. Anyone who saw the crash or the stalled vehicle before it happened can contact DeKalb County police as the investigation continues.