Lanes reopen after fiery crash involving lumber truck, semi carrying candles on I-285

EAST POINT, Ga. — A tractor-trailer fire shut down all lanes of Interstate 285 southbound near the Atlanta airport Thursday morning. Several lanes have since reopened, but delays remain.

Triple Team Traffic reports the accident happened at the Washington Road and Camp Creek Parkway exits around 7:45 a.m.

Lanes that were closed on the northbound side have reopened. At least three lanes of I-285 southbound have also reopened.

Crews are still working to clean up fuel and debris that spilled onto the highway.

[PHOTOS: Fiery chain reaction crash shuts down I-285]

Channel 2 Action News learned the crash involved two tractor trailers, a truck and an SUV.

College Park fire officials said one of the trucks was a flat bed truck carrying lumber. The second semi was carrying 10,000 pounds of candles.

The chain-reaction crash started when the driver of the truck told police he either fell out or jumped out of the moving vehicle. The truck went down an embankment, ran over a sign and plowed straight into morning rush-hour traffic on I-285.

Once on the interstate, the truck was hit by the trucks hauling candles and logs and at least one other vehicle.

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The two semi trucks burst into flames.

The fire burned for over an hour as crews from East Point, College Park and other agencies worked to get the incident under control.

No serious injuries have been reported. One of the drivers is being treated for minor burns.

Bradley Norris was headed to work when he said the truck also hit his car.

“The vehicle that caused the wreck ended up catching on fire,” Norris said. “When that one caught on fire, the rest of them caught on fire. The tires started blowing out on us.”

He said luckily, his car did not catch fire.

“I’m just glad that God was with me,” Norris said. “I get to go home and see my newborn.”

The driver who caused the crash was taken to the hospital. His condition and identity have not been released.

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