Emergency officials have cleared away fatal accident on Interstate 85 near Peachtree Road in Suwanee that caused traffic problems today in Gwinnett County.
Lt. Colin Rhoden of Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services confirmed a fatality in a passenger vehicle that apparently collided with a tractor trailer.
A video sent to Channel 2 Action News by a passing motorist shows the trailer engulfed in white smoke. A photograph showed a car pinned beneath the burned-out part of the trailer.
Jackson County resident Anabela Kovacs passed the scene shortly after the accident occurred.
“The small car was pressed between the tractor trailer and the railing, completely engulfed in fire,” she said.
A Gwinnett Police Department spokesman said both vehicles were southbound on I-85 north of Old Peachtree Road when contact was made between the tractor trailer and the passenger car. The car caught fire and the driver was trapped in the vehicle and died at the scene. The spokesman said the identities of those involved and any resulting charges would not be available until next week.
The accident remains under investigation.
All southbound lanes of I-85 near the accident were blocked for much of the day. Channel 2 reported that southbound traffic was diverted to a nearby access road.
