A driver making an improper pass in the emergency lane on I-20 West led to a serious crash that shut down all lanes of the Atlanta interstate for hours Monday, authorities said.
Just before 3:45 p.m., a driver in a Ford F-550 truck tried to rejoin the normal travel lanes on I-20 after making a pass in the emergency lane on the right shoulder of the highway, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Lt. Mark Riley said in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As the truck merged into the right-hand lane, it hit the front right fender of the vehicle it was passing.
The contact caused the F-550 to lose control and cross all four westbound lanes before hitting the concrete median wall, Riley said. Once it hit the wall, the truck was hit by another vehicle and both overturned.
🚨RED ALERT 5:40p West Atlanta: Update on a two plus hour closure..I-20/wb at Langhorn St (Exit 54). Details NOW 95.5 @wsbradio & @wsbtv Channel 2 Action News #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/Hz5xqUXn8Q
— Mark McKay (@mckayWSB) December 20, 2021
Minor injuries were reported but no one was taken to the hospital from the scene, Riley said.
All I-20 West lanes were closed for more than three hours before the interstate was partially reopened around 7:30 p.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. The crash took place just west of the interchange between I-20 and the Downtown Connector, a major junction that funnels traffic from the city’s center. Some lanes on the eastbound side of I-20 were blocked as well, the Traffic Center said.
Footage from NewsChopper 2 showed what appeared to be a truckload of dirt being hosed off the highway’s surface. Riley did not provide further information about what was spilled onto the highway or how it was cleaned off.
The GSP did not say if anyone would be charged in the incident.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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