Early morning commuters on I-285 in Fulton County had to deal with hours of traffic delays Monday after a tanker truck overturned when another truck hit it, officials said.
The fully loaded concrete tanker was at one point lying perfectly across all southbound lanes of the Perimeter at Langford Parkway.
The big rig overturned after a bobtail truck driven by Juan Carlos Deochoa, 46, of Mexico City, struck it after trying to avoid another crash around 6:30 a.m., Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Franka Young said.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
The preliminary investigation revealed Deochoa was traveling in the right lane on I-285 South when a vehicle directly in front of him began to slow down, Young said. Deochoa moved onto the shoulder of the interstate to avoid a crash, only to hit another vehicle that had been abandoned.
That collision caused Deochoa to reenter the travel lanes and crash into the tanker, Young said. The tanker driver then lost control, causing the vehicle to overturn onto the driver’s side. The driver sustained only minor injuries.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
The tanker truck was removed from the road about 8:30 a.m., but heavy delays remained. All lanes reopened about 9:30 a.m.
Deochoa was charged with failure to maintain lane, Young said.
