Driver seriously injured in wrong-way crash on I-285

A wrong-way driver was seriously injured early Friday when his SUV collided with a tractor-trailer in the northbound lanes of I-285, Atlanta police said.

The head-on crash happened shortly after midnight near Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway on Atlanta’s Westside, trapping the driver inside his vehicle, department spokesman Officer Anthony Grant said Friday morning.

It’s unclear where the man entered the interstate or how long he had been driving the wrong direction before colliding with the truck. The driver, who was not identified, was rushed to the hospital after fire crews removed him from the mangled Lexus, authorities said. An update on his condition wasn’t immediately available Friday.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured in the wreck.

RED ALERT: Shutdown on I-285/nb between I-20 and Hollowell Parkway. Take the Connector as your alternate. #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/oCEPvEBOtd
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) May 7, 2021

The northbound lanes of I-285 were shut down for several hours overnight as police investigated the crash and removed the vehicles from the scene. The Perimeter reopened about 4 a.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

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