Woman dies after hitting truck stopped on I-285

By George Mathis and Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A woman died early Saturday morning when she drove into the back of a tractor-trailer parked on I-285, Clayton County officials said.

Capt. Tina Daniel with the Clayton police said the 76-year-old woman was alone and driving westbound on the interstate. She hit the tractor-trailer at about 6:50 a.m.

Three of the highway's five lanes were closed just west of Clark Howell Highway for about three hours.

Daniel said the tractor-trailer had been involved in a minor collision with another large truck and the two trucks had pulled over. The other truck pulled into the median, but the tractor-trailer stopped in the right lane of traffic.

The woman then drove under the tractor-trailer at a high rate of speed, said Daniel. "It was a horrible accident."

Daniel said it was unclear how much time elapsed between the two collisions. She said the semi driver had turned on his emergency lights before the woman hit him.

The woman was a Georgia resident. Police were not releasing her identity Saturday evening because her family had yet been notified of her death

Charges may be filed after the investigation is complete. Investigators will stage a crash reenactment Monday morning, Daniel said.