Atlanta, Georgia: Pickup Driver Killed in Crash With MARTA Bus That Shut Down I-75 South in Clayton County

A pickup driver died early Tuesday after the truck crashed into the back of a MARTA bus on Interstate 75 southbound in Clayton County, closing all southbound lanes near Forest Parkway for the morning drive, Clayton County police said.

What police say happened

Police and firefighters responded at about 4:30 a.m. to the southbound lanes of I-75 near Forest Parkway, according to the Clayton County Police Department. The MARTA bus had stalled on the interstate, and the pickup ran into the back of it. The pickup driver died in the crash.

No passengers were on the bus, and the bus driver was not injured, police said. Authorities have not released the pickup driver's name.

MARTA is the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, the agency that runs bus and rail service in the Atlanta area. Its buses share the same interstate lanes as commuter traffic on the south side of the city, where I-75 is one of the main routes between downtown Atlanta, Forest Park and the communities of Clayton County.

A shutdown on the south side

FOX 5 Atlanta reported that the crash shut down all southbound lanes of I-75 near Forest Parkway, with emergency medical crews at the scene and traffic backups stretching toward Interstate 285. The closure hit the start of the morning rush on a highway that carries commuters from Clayton County and points south into the city.

Another crash was reported near the backup as traffic approached I-285, FOX 5 reported. Exit 58 on I-285 was closed, and delays extended from Central Avenue. Drivers were advised to take Jonesboro Road or Old Dixie Highway to get around the closures.

I-75 southbound later reopened in Clayton County after the deadly crash, 11Alive reported. Police have not given a time for when every lane cleared, and drivers were still being warned about delays around the backup on Tuesday morning.

What is not known yet

Police have not said why the bus had stalled on the interstate, or what caused the pickup to hit it. They have not said whether anyone else was hurt in the second crash near the backup. The investigation into the fatal crash is in its first day, and the pickup driver has not been publicly identified in the reports published so far.

For south side drivers, the morning was a reminder of how fast one stalled vehicle can stop the whole corridor. A bus standing in a travel lane at 4:30 a.m., before the heaviest traffic builds, still produced a full closure, a second crash in the backup and detours onto Jonesboro Road and Old Dixie Highway for hours.