Officials ID Carrollton man killed after wrong-way driver smashes into his car on I-85
A Carrollton man was killed when a wrong-way driver smashed into his car on I-85 in Fairburn early Wednesday morning.
Investigators said the wrong-way driver, who was injured in the crash, might have been under the influence of alcohol.
Fairburn police were notified that a driver was going the wrong way on I-85 about 1 a.m., Deputy Chief Anthony Bazydlo said Wednesday in a news release. Officers were sent to the area to look for the driver, but found a wreck that had already happened.
Bazydlo said the wrong-way driver, identified only as a 25-year-old man, was driving a white BMW northbound in the southbound lanes and collided with a gray Nissan.
The driver of the Nissan, identified as Samuel Postelle, 26, by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, was killed instantly.
The wrong-way driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Officers smelled a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on and about his person,” according to the news release.
The Georgia State Patrol responded to the scene “due to the severity of the accident,” Bazydlo said. That agency took over as the primary investigating agency.
I-85 South was closed for hours while authorities investigated the wreck. The roadway was reopened about 4 a.m.
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About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
