I-75 in Henry County has reopened, more than five hours after a fiery multivehicle crash killed four people and blocked all northbound lanes Thursday.
The wreck, which happened at Ga. 20 near Exit 218 around 12:15 p.m., involved two tractor-trailers and a pickup truck, Henry County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Joey Smith said.
In a news release, he said a tractor-trailer hauling potatoes struck the rear of the pickup truck pulling a trailer filled with pine straw, pushing it into another tractor-trailer containing rubber particles.
The collision caused a fire, and all four people in the pickup truck were killed, the release said. The pickup truck was registered in Laurens County, but the victims’ names won’t be released until their families are notified.
The pickup truck had been slowing down due to traffic from an earlier crash on the interstate.
The driver of the tractor-trailer that struck the pickup is considered at-fault, the release said. That driver, who hasn’t been named, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. It’s unclear what charges that driver may face.
Earlier, officials directed motorists to turn around on the interstate. At one point, the southbound lanes and the express lanes were held until the flames were extinguished, causing more backups.
The road reopened just before 6 p.m.
In the earlier crash, a tractor-trailer wrecked at I-675, spilling what appeared to be drywall into the roadway. That scene cleared about 12:25 p.m.
RELATED: I-75 North in Henry County blocked after big rig spills drywall
In other news:
