Gwinnett police on Wednesday identified a woman who was struck and killed on northbound I-85 after exiting an SUV involved in an earlier accident on the interstate.
Taliah Freeman, 32, of Gainesville, was a passenger in a 2006 Ford Expedition early Saturday when the SUV and a tractor-trailer collided just north of the Pleasant Hill Road bridge, Gwinnett police Cpl. Michelle Pihera said in a statement. Authorities don't know how the crash happened. The vehicles were two lanes apart at the time of the collision, police said. The Expedition rotated counter-clockwise and came to an uncontrolled rest in the center of the interstate.
The driver decided to leave the SUV and call 911, Pihera said. Freeman got out the Expedition to retrieve a personal item from the backseat. As Freeman and the driver stood on the interstate, the driver of a 2005 Pontiac Montana struck Freeman, the driver, and the SUV, Pihera said.
Police officers were dispatched to the scene about 4:40 a.m.
They found Freeman dead at the scene and the driver of the Expedition with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center-Lawrenceville for treatment.
No one has been charged in connection with either accident.
“It is never safe to exit your vehicle on the interstate following a collision,” Pihera said. “Make every attempt to pull your vehicle onto the shoulder and wait for an officer. If your vehicle is inoperable, turn on your hazard lights, keep your seatbelt on and wait for a police officer to arrive.”
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