Man dead, officer hurt in Downtown Connector accident

A pedestrian was killed and a police officer was injured when they were hit by separate vehicles on the Downtown Connector on Friday night, Atlanta police said.

The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on I-75/85 southbound south of University Avenue. Five lanes were closed until around 10:15 p.m.

A 27-year-old officer was responding to a call about a pedestrian on the interstate, police spokesman Officer John Chafee said.

The pedestrian fought with the officer and ran across the northbound lanes of the Connector, jumped over the median and was struck by a vehicle in the southbound lanes, he said. The pedestrian died at the scene.

The officer was hit while trying to stop traffic and render aid in the southbound lanes, Chafee said. He is in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital with head and leg injuries, he said.

Meanwhile, a second accident was reported in the northbound lanes at the same location. Northbound traffic was stopped from the I-75/85 junction northward. By 9 p.m., the vehicle involved in that accident was on the left shoulder and traffic was moving again.