While local law enforcement has charged a homeless man with starting the fire that caused a chunk of Interstate 85 to collapse, federal authorities say they may decide to bring federal charges as well.
“We are actively involved and we are possibly looking to perfect a case to present to the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Nero Priester, spokesman for the Atlanta office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Basil Eleby, 39, was arrested Friday, a day after the rush-hour bridge fire that threw Atlanta into a traffic nightmare.
Police say Eleby was under the bridge smoking crack when he torched a stuffed chair that was on top of a shopping cart. The fire then spread to construction material stored under the raised interstate. Atlanta police say Eleby left the scene after starting the fire.
Eleby is being held in the Fulton County Jail on $200,000 bond on state arson charges and he is due in court April 14. His lawyer, Liz Markowitz, has said Eldely is being "scapegoated" so attention will be redirected away from the state and the storage of flammable construction materials under a raised section of the interstate for about a decade.
Priester said state charges don’t preclude the ATF from charging someone federally.
"Several factors .. go into perfecting an arson investigation," Priester said. 'One is how this affects interstate commerce."
He did not have a timetable on when the investigation would be complete.
State officials say they stretch of I-85 will reopened by June 15.
“We still have to sift through the rubble,” the ATF spokesman said. “We have to determine if an accelerant was used. At some point in the future, a determination will be made as to whether the case will be taken for federal prosecution. We haven’t ruled that out.”
At the same time, another federal agency is also investigating.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss said the agency will examine the safety of storing materials under highways.
“Our concern is basically the storage of flammable construction materials under infrastructure,” Weiss said.
Results of the NTSB investigation will be turned over to the Federal Highway Administration and state officials.
The Georgia state fire marshal said the huge spools of plastic and fiberglass conduit stored under the bridge were petroleum based and that allowed the fire to spread so quickly.
“It is a petroleum-based product and that’s why you had black smoke,” said fire marshal Dwayne Garriss. “When it started turning from solid into a liquid, it starts pooling.
“Its moving and sliding,” and that allowed it to spread, Garriss said.
Garriss said he was preparing a final report on investigators’ findings but the document would not be made public while the criminal case is open.
The case against Eleby, he said, is based on information from “two witnesses who basically pointed out the suspect who has been arrested and is in custody.”
“ We’re building the case around that information as well as other things,” he said.
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