All lanes reopen on I-285 after crash causes highway sign to fall

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A crash involving a tractor-trailer caused a highway sign to fall on I-285 Monday morning, leaving the driver injured and the highway closed for hours.

All lanes of I-285 southbound after the East Ponce De Leon reopened by just before 5 p.m. after the 8-hour traffic nightmare.

Two northbound lanes were briefly closed as crews worked to remove the sign. Police said crews also worked to clear a fuel spill caused by the accident.

Channel 2′s Tony Thomas was at the scene all day as crews worked to clear the wreckage. Drivers told Thomas they were stuck for hours.

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Video from the scene showed a mangled tractor-trailer wrapped around the sign post. DeKalb County Fire officials confirmed the driver was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

It is unclear if the driver was injured in the accident or when the sign fell.

Fire officials said the tanker was loaded with 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel when it rolled over. Almost all of the fuel spilled onto the road and into a nearby ditch.

Amazingly, neither the tanker or the falling sign hit anyone else.

“Everyone else is very lucky that they didn’t get harmed in any way,” Battalion Chief Kenneth McKinney said.

Thomas asked driver Reginald Gaye if he ever worried about a highway sign falling on him.

“I haven’t, but I will from now forward,” Gaye said.