Deadly pedestrian crash leads to multivehicle wreck on I-20

Two crashes turned I-20 in Atlanta into a parking lot for three hours during the height of the Wednesday morning commute An unidentified pedestrian was killed while walking along I-20 near Lowery Boulevard and a multivehicle wreck happened in the same area The multivehicle wreck may have involved as many as 10 cars, but the number of people injured has not been released Both directions of I-20 were closed at Lowery Boulevard while authorities worked the crashes, but are now open

Two crashes — a deadly pedestrian accident and a massive multivehicle wreck — turned I-20 in Atlanta into a parking lot for three hours during the height of the Wednesday morning commute.

A man was killed after getting struck by a car while walking along I-20 near Lowery Boulevard, Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee told AJC.com.

Authorities said the pedestrian, identified Thursday as 37-year-old Dehaven Holmes of Decatur, tried crossing the interstate about 6:20 a.m. and was hit by a driver near the median wall.

That led to a multivehicle wreck involving six other cars as drivers tried to avoid the scene and smashed into each other, Atlanta police said.

One man involved in the wreck was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after complaining of minor pain, Officer Anthony Grant said.

I-20 was blocked near Lowery Boulevard for hours due to a deadly pedestrian crash as well as a multivehicle wreck in the same area, authorities said. 

Credit: JOHN SPINK/ JSPINK@AJC.COM

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Credit: JOHN SPINK/ JSPINK@AJC.COM

Both directions of I-20 were closed at Lowery Boulevard while authorities worked the crashes, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported. Westbound lanes reopened just before 8:30 a.m.

Eastbound lanes reopened just before 9 a.m., according to the Traffic Center.

The Georgia State Patrol is helping Atlanta police investigate the crash.