A woman who died on I-285 in south Fulton County early Thursday was apparently killed after getting out of her wrecked car, police said.

The incident happened about 4 a.m. on I-285 southbound, south of Washington Road at the I-85 southbound interchange near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Fulton County police Cpl. Kay Lester said responding officers “discovered one female deceased at the location.”

She said investigators believe the woman, identified Saturday as 24-year-old Deidre Spear of Atlanta, initially struck a guardrail, and her vehicle came to a stop in the travel lanes.

“It is believed that the woman had exited her vehicle when her disabled vehicle was struck by a second vehicle,” Lester said. “We believe the impact from the secondary collision caused the deceased to be struck by her own vehicle.”

Police shut down all southbound lanes of the interstate for more than two hours.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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