Atlanta, Georgia: Deadly Crash Shuts Southbound I-85 in Gwinnett County, Brookhaven House Fire Burns Overnight

At least one person died early Friday in a crash that shut down southbound Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County for several hours, in a night that also brought a multi-vehicle crash in Midtown Atlanta and a house fire in Brookhaven, according to local reports.

The deadly crash happened around 12:30 a.m. Friday on southbound Interstate 85 near the Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road exit, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. The interstate was shut down for several hours while police investigated, and all lanes have since reopened. NBC affiliate 11Alive also reported that it had learned the early Friday crash on Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County involved a fatality.

The I-85 shutdown in Gwinnett County

Police were investigating the crash on Friday morning, FOX 5 reported. No one involved in the crash had been identified, and it was not known what led to the crash.

The Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road exit serves Suwanee and the southern part of Lawrenceville, and the southbound lanes at that point carry traffic toward Atlanta. A full shutdown there in the overnight hours forced drivers off the interstate until crews cleared the scene and investigators finished their first work. FOX 5 reported that all lanes had reopened by the time its morning report was published.

Multi-vehicle crash in Midtown

Several vehicles were also involved in a crash around midnight at 14th Street and Oakwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta, FOX 5 reported. Cobb County police and Atlanta police responded to the scene, and the vehicles were badly damaged.

It was not known what led to that crash or whether anyone was injured, FOX 5 reported. Police had not released further details on Friday morning.

Brookhaven house fire on Surrey Lane

Fire crews in Brookhaven were working to put out hot spots on Friday morning after a three-story home under construction caught fire around 2 a.m. on Surrey Lane, FOX 5 reported. The Atlanta Focal, citing DeKalb County fire officials, reported the fire at 2926 Surrey Lane at around 2:04 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and said the fire affected the upper portion of the house.

Crews switched to a defensive strategy to fight the flames, FOX 5 reported, which means firefighters worked from outside the building rather than sending crews inside. No one was injured in the fire, and The Atlanta Focal reported that no firefighters were injured. A neighbor told FOX 5 that the large response was unusual for the typically quiet street, and that the home had recently been completed and was scheduled to close in about a week.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and DeKalb County officials did not provide information about the extent of the damage, The Atlanta Focal reported.

What remains unknown

By Friday morning, the open questions were the same across all three scenes. Police had not named the person who died on Interstate 85 or said what caused that crash. They had not said whether anyone was hurt in the Midtown crash. Fire officials had not said what started the Brookhaven fire.

This article will be updated in place if police release the name of the person who died on Interstate 85 after local outlets carry it, or if officials release a cause for any of the three incidents.