One person was killed Friday morning after witnesses said an SUV turned around and began driving the wrong way on the Downtown Connector.
The witnesses told police the Mercedes-Benz SUV was traveling the proper direction in the southbound lanes but made a U-turn, resulting in a head-on collision, according to an Atlanta police spokesman.
The crash occurred north of University Avenue about 1:30 a.m. The southbound lanes were shut down for more than four hours while authorities investigated and did not reopen until just before 6 a.m., the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported.
According to police, the Mercedes collided with a Hyundai Sonata. The driver of the sedan was dead at the scene, the spokesman said.
The driver of the Mercedes, described by police as a man in his 20s, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with two broken legs. He was in critical condition Friday morning.
The incident is the second to involve a wrong-way driver on the Downtown Connector this week. On Sunday, both drivers involved in a head-on collision near University Avenue were killed.
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