Hit & Run Tractor Trailer Causes Fatal Wreck on I-285

Atlantans woke this morning to the news that at 5:30 AM a hit and run tractor trailer caused a chain reaction accident on I-285 southbound in DeKalb County near Ponce de Leon Avenue. It hit a Ford Focus, knocking it into a Toyota Camry. Those drivers got out of their cars, apparently to inspect damage, and were hit by a fourth vehicle. Both were killed.

The tractor trailer left the scene and and last report had not been identified but law enforcement officers had launched a search. I am confident that the Georgia State Patrol SCRT(Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team) team will give this very high priority and do a superb job. The tractor trailer could well be in South Carolina or Florida by now.

The impact on morning rush hour traffic throughout the east side of metro Atlanta was monumental.

Ken Shigley is an Atlanta-based trial attorney, a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and a member of the national board of the American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group. Currently he is president of the 42,000 member State Bar of Georgia.