Woman, 87, dead after SUV crashes onto Atlanta Beltline

A driver is dead after an SUV went off a bridge and crashed onto the Atlanta Beltline’s Westside Trail on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Investigators do not know what caused the SUV to leave the road, but they do not believe any other vehicles were involved. The driver was dead when rescue crews arrived around 4:30 p.m., according to Atlanta police.

She was identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office as 87-year-old Betty Hodo of Atlanta.

Just got this picture of 87 year old Betty Hodo, who was killed when her car went over a bridge and plunged down on the Beltline near Cascade. ⁦@wsbtv⁩ pic.twitter.com/HZIYAB6vKs
— Tom Jones (@TomJonesWSBTV) August 26, 2021

“Preliminary investigation revealed the driver of the vehicle left the roadway, struck a metal fence and veered over the bridge,” the police department said in a statement. “At this time, it appears this was a single vehicle accident and no charges will be filed in this collision.”

The crash happened near the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Cascade Avenue. In that area, Abernathy Boulevard is raised above ground level and a section of the Atlanta Beltline runs beneath it. In the course of the wreck, the SUV plunged from Abernathy Boulevard to the trail below.

There was a large presence of police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel on the scene for much of the day Wednesday. A section of Abernathy Boulevard was closed while crews replaced the broken section of iron fencing with a concrete barrier.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

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