Driver charged in fiery crash that caused I-285 to shut down for over 14 hours

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The Dunwoody Police Department has charged the driver accused of causing a traffic nightmare Monday afternoon.

Officers responded to the crash on Interstate 285 WB near Ashford Dunwoody Road around 3 p.m.

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Once they arrived, they found four cars that were involved in the crash. Investigators determined that three vehicles had collided, which included a track-trailer that struck a black car. The black car was pushed into the median, and caused another car to flip.

Authorities said the tractor-trailer caught on fire underneath the Ashford Dunwoody Road bridge when it came to a rest.

NewsChopper 2 spotted at least two other cars were flipped onto their sides on the highway.

The driver of the blue Mustang made an improper lane change, which caused the accident, officials said.

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Officials have not released the identity of the driver.

All lanes of I-285 were shut down for more than 14 hours.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach and Channel 2′s Darryn Moore showed you LIVE on Channel 2 Action News This Morning as the fire-damaged westbound lanes reopened around 5 a.m.

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Engineers shared with Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that they had to wait for the bridge to cool down before they could assess it. It has since reopened.

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