COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A crash that shut down all westbound lanes of Interstate 20 in Cobb County for hours Thursday afternoon has turned deadly.
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The crash happened around 4:45 p.m. on I-20 westbound just past Riverside Parkway, according to Cobb County police.
Georgia Department of Transportation cameras showed an SUV off the roadway in a wooded area as police and fire crews blocked the interstate, causing major delays for drivers.
Cobb County police say Eric Patino, 31, of Douglasville, was driving a 1997 Ford Explorer westbound when, for reasons that remain unclear, the SUV crossed multiple lanes of traffic.
Police said the Explorer first collided with a pickup truck driven by a 57-year-old Bremen man before hitting an Audi SUV occupied by three people from Villa Rica, ages 44, 48 and 61.
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After the crashes, the Explorer left the roadway, entered a wooded embankment and overturned. Officials said Patino was ejected from the SUV.
Patino was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said no one else involved in the crash was injured.
The wreck forced the closure of all westbound lanes of I-20 near Riverside Parkway during the evening commute.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Unit.
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