Woman killed after exiting disabled SUV, leading to Downtown Connector pileup
A woman was killed in a crash that led to an eight-vehicle pileup that closed the southbound lanes of Atlanta’s Downtown Connector for hours early Friday.
Police said the wreck happened after a Jeep Renegade had a mechanical issue near University Avenue, or Exit 244, causing it to stop in the middle of the interstate around 2:30 a.m. The location is just south of downtown.
The driver then got out of her vehicle and was struck by a Chevrolet Camaro, officials said. She was declared dead at the scene.
The woman was identified as 27-year-old Nikayla M. Harriel by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
That impact then led to a chain-reaction collision involving six additional vehicles, Atlanta police said.
Several drivers sustained injuries that were not life threatening but were taken to a hospital.
The additional vehicles included a Toyota Highlander, a Nissan Sentra, a Toyota Camry, a Porsche Macan, a GMC Yukon and a BMW whose model was not specified.
All southbound lanes were closed for four hours as investigators recorded evidence and Georgia Department of Transportation workers cleared the scene. By 6:30 a.m., traffic was flowing again.
Investigators are asking anyone with dashcam video from the crash to contact Detective B. Thacker at BJThacker@AtlantaGa.Gov or to submit a tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
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Rosana Hughes is an award-winning bilingual (fluent in Spanish) journalist with a passion for explanatory public service journalism. She has been a reporter on the breaking news team since January 2022.
