DeKalb cops: Hit-and-run driver struck while fleeing on foot on I-285

DeKalb County police had to shut down part of Interstate 285 Monday during rush hour when a hit-and-run driver tried to flee on foot and got hit by a tractor-trailer.

Police were dispatched at 6:40 p.m. to a reported hit-and-run crash in the southbound lane near the Lawrenceville Highway exit, Capt. Steve Fore said.

Before the officers arrived, they got a second call that the fleeing vehicle — which had left on a flat tire — had been involved in a second accident near Memorial Drive, Fore said. The fugitive’s vehicle was disabled, but he then tried to flee on foot and was hit by a truck after he jumped the median wall into the northbound lane, Fore said.

The fleeing driver was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, Fore said. His identity has not yet been determined, Fore said.

The two inner lanes of I-285 southbound, and all lanes of I-285 northbound were closed during the investigation, Fore said. I-285 northbound was re-opened at 8 p.m., Fore said.