A 30-year-old attorney told officers he couldn’t remember what happened before his car was struck head-on on I-285, according to a Clayton County police report.
But investigators believe Demetrice James Allen was driving the wrong way on the interstate around 3 a.m. on Dec. 7, the police report states.
Officers suspect Allen may have been under the influence of alcohol. He died from his injuries hours later.
The crash report, released late Friday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, offered more details into the death of Allen, who was reported missing after a night out with friends. The driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe told officers he saw lights heading toward him near the Jonesboro Road exit, but couldn’t avoid Allen’s BMW.
> RELATED: Attorney reported missing after night out killed in crash
Allen spent that Friday night in East Atlanta Village and left in the early-morning hours, telling friends he planned to grab a burger on the way home, a friend previously told The AJC.
“He's a 30-year-old Ohio State graduate that simply went out with friends and never returned from a burger run,” James Handley, who called himself Allen’s best friend, said in an email.
By the time Allen was reported missing, he had died from his injuries, according to police. But his family wasn’t notified until several days later.
Investigators did not initially believe Allen’s injuries were life-threatening, Clayton police said. After Allen died, employees at a local hospital contacted the GBI, which conducts autopsies for Clayton County. A GBI spokeswoman said investigators had a difficult time locating Allen’s family members to notify them of his death.
The funeral for Allen was held late December in Wisconsin, according to his online obituary.
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