Two drivers were taken to hospitals, one in critical condition, following an early Friday morning crash that shut down I-85 for more than five hours and snarled traffic in Midtown.
Traffic investigators believe a red Lamborghini rear-ended a Nissan Juke in the northbound lanes shortly before 4:30 a.m., causing both vehicles to lose control and strike a shoulder wall south of the ramp to Ga. 400. The Nissan’s driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Atlanta police said.
A bystander took the driver of the Lamborghini to a hospital before police arrived. Charges are pending in the case, according to police spokesman Officer Steve Avery, but they were not specified.
The investigation shut down the interstate at Monroe Drive for more than five hours before lanes reopened shortly before 10 a.m. The exit lane to Ga. 400 North is still closed, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
While authorities were on scene, there were “massive delays” between downtown Atlanta and Midtown ahead of peak travel for the Memorial Day weekend, WSB traffic reporter Mark Arum said.
“I knew traffic was going to be rough this afternoon and this evening,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be bad this morning. It should have been lighter than normal. That has not been the case.”
Police also briefly closed lanes on the Buford Spring Connector at Piedmont Road while they searched for other victims in the crash.
“There was initial concern that a child may have been ejected from the Nissan but it was determined the child was safe at home,” Avery said in a news release. “No other injuries were reported.”
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Authorities opened an HOV lane just before 6:30 a.m. to help relieve some of the congestion. But another crash in the backups made matters worse.
Multiple northbound lanes were closed on the Downtown Connector after a pickup truck slammed into the back of a car and ended up on its roof, the Traffic Center reported. Authorities cleared the scene of the second crash at 17th Street just before 7:30 a.m., but there were gridlock conditions back to the Grady Curve for much of the morning commute.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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