Tree falls on I-285, smashing into pickup truck during rush hour

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A driver is in the hospital after a tree crashed through a barrier wall next to I-285 in DeKalb County Thursday morning and smashed into three vehicles.

A pickup truck took the brunt of the impact. The driver lost control and spun out when the tree came down across the southbound lanes south of U.S. 78 at Church Street, DeKalb police Lt. C. Howard said.

Channel 2's Lauren Pozen was at the scene Thursday morning, talking to drivers who saw the freak accident happen.

"The truck was out of control. I had to stop because the tree landed in front of me," Lisa Buckner said.

Buckner said she got out of her car to talk to the driver of the truck and called 911.

"The tree is completely into the front of his vehicle on the windshield, so he is very blessed," Buckner said. She said she thinks that driver will be OK.

NewsChopper 2 was over the scene Thursday morning as traffic stood at a standstill while crews worked to clean up. Triple Team Traffic guided drivers around the backup during the morning rush hour.

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Pozen talked to officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation, who said that the tree was not on their right-of-way but on private property. They are investigating to see what property the tree was on before it fell.

By Thursday afternoon, some of the tree was still poking through the barrier, but traffic was flowing again.

Buckner said it wasn't something that she would soon forget.

"You just don't know, especially with it being so dark in the morning and you don't really see a lot of things," Buckner said. "To have something very big come down on a truck that is right in front of you can be very scary."

Cox Media Group