I-285 at Ashford-Dunwoody Road: Westbound lanes back open after fiery crash

DUNWOODY, Ga. - All westbound lanes of Interstate 285 at Ashford-Dunwoody Road have reopened after a fiery crash involving a semi-truck Monday afternoon.

Crews with the Georgia Department of Transportation worked through the night to get traffic back to normal on the important metro Atlanta interstate. Officials say they had to do emergency repaving of the surface along I-285. Inspectors are also checking the structural integrity of the overpass before Ashford-Dunwoody Road can be reopened.

Around 3 p.m., Dunwoody police say four vehicles were traveling along I-285. One vehicle went around another vehicle that had been stopped in traffic. That caused the initial collision involving three vehicles, police say.

A tractor-trailer struck a black vehicle, pushing it against the median barrier and flipping another car on its side, police say.

"There was a vehicle trying to go around someone stopped in traffic…that vehicle collided with another vehicle, which caused a chain reaction to cause the actual accident," Dunwoody Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Michael Cheek said Monday.

That tractor-trailer ended up under the Ashford-Dunwoody Road overpass where police say it caught fire.

We’re not 100% sure how it caught fire, but it caught fire under the bridge," Cheek stated. 

Three people were injured. Police say all three received minor injuries and were transported to an area hospital.

Firefighters were able to get the fire under control and eventually out within about 40 minutes.

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SKYFOX 5 flew over The Perimeter shortly after 3 p.m. and spotted flames coming from the tractor-trailer, licking the underside of the bridge. It appears some of the utilities that ran under the bridge were impacted by the fire.

Video sent to FOX 5 from witnesses of the crash showed plumes smoke rising from the tractor trailer. 

Officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation were called out to inspect the bridge before allowing it to be reopened and to determine what utility work needs to be done. The process also came with some delays as crews had to wait for the bridge to cool down before they could proceed with tests.

Southbound lanes of the bridge were re-opened, but northbound lanes remained shut down.

"Until they deem it safe, it is going to remain closed to all traffic, not just vehicular but pedestrian as well," Cheek explained.

Traffic was backed up in the area for hours, stretching to Riverside Drive to the west and Spaghetti Junction on the east side.

"Since 3, most all of 285 had been shutdown until recently when 285 eastbound re-opened," Check said. 

Police worked for hours to clear traffic from the roadway, closing some entrance ramps to the interstate in the area. Several surface streets in the area were also impacted including Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, and Peachtree Industrial Blvd.

Around 6:15 p.m., all eastbound lanes of I-285 were reopened.

GDOT crews will also have to repave lanes on the Westbound side of 285 where the tractor trailer burned and hope to have it back open by 7 a.m. Tuesdat morning. Dunwoody police are asking people to avoid this area if possible. 

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