Tour bus catches fire on I-285

A tour bus carrying a University of Alabama at Huntsville team to an Atlanta track and field competition caught fire at the beginning of rush hour Friday on Interstate 285 in Sandy Springs.

Police spokesman Steve Rose said all 45 passengers got off the bus safely.

Rose said a witness told police “something” fell from the rear of the bus and smoke, then flames quickly followed. Beyond that, no cause has been determined.

The fire happened around 4 p.m. near the Peachtree-Dunwoody exit.

Since the bus was in an east-bound lane, Ross said, traffic was not clogged as much as it would have been if the bus was headed in the other direction.

MARTA was to help get the students to a Doraville hotel where they were staying Friday night, Rose said.