Local

1 dead in multi-car crash on I-285

ATLANTA — Several lanes of Interstate 285 were closed for several hours due to a multi-car crash leaving one driver dead in northeast Atlanta.

Atlanta police said three separate accidents occurred as a result of a Walmart tractor-trailer losing control and jackknifing around 8:30 a.m.

A Walmart tractor-trailer was traveling north on I-285, a half mile south of the Donald Lee Hollowell exit, when it lost control and began to jackknife. It then struck the median wall, causing significant damage and damaging a vehicle traveling south on I-285.

As the Walmart tractor-trailer was losing control, other vehicles in its path tried to evade the crash.

A Chevy Impala ran into the rear of a Nissan Maxima, causing them to travel into the right emergency lanes. A Flagship Transportation tractor-trailer, driven by John Cromwell, struck a SWIFT Company tractor-trailer driven by John Hildebrand. The Flagship transportation tractor trailer then ran into the rear of a BMW, sending the vehicle across I-285 onto the right emergency lane and into a fence. The BMW came to an uncontrolled rest on the 600 block of Harwell Rd.

The driver of the BMW was in critical condition and was transported to Grady hospital, where he died shortly after arriving.

Cromwell was charged with following too closely, and vehicular homicide second degree, a misdemeanor.

Because of this accident, I-285 north and south was shut down for about an hour and was then limited to two lanes open for traffic. None of the tractor-trailers lost their loads.

The victim's name has not yet been released.