A man is dead after being struck by multiple vehicles on I-85 South near Metropolitan Parkway in Atlanta, in a crash that shut down all southbound lanes for hours overnight. Officers responded to the scene around 10:56 p.m. Wednesday, and medical personnel pronounced the man dead where he lay on the freeway. His identity has not been released, and neither have the identities of the drivers or vehicles involved.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, police say an unknown vehicle first struck the man as he was in the far-left lane of I-85 South, and that additional vehicles then struck him as he lay in the roadway. The crash happened in Atlanta's Perkerson neighborhood, a residential and commercial stretch of South Atlanta near major transit lines, according to The Local Alert, which reported that the closure stretched into early Thursday morning. Atlanta police are still searching for answers about how the crash unfolded, and the department's Accident Investigations Unit is working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Key Questions Still Unanswered
Investigators have not said whether the driver who first struck the man remained at the scene, or whether any of the vehicles involved left before officers arrived. Under Georgia law, drivers involved in a crash resulting in injury or death are required to stop immediately, exchange identification, and render aid — failing to do so at a fatal crash scene is a felony, per Attorney Big Al Atlanta. It also remains unclear why the man was in the far-left lane of the interstate in the first place. Georgia statutes generally bar pedestrians from walking or standing on controlled-access highways, and require those outside marked crosswalks to yield to vehicles, according to the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety.
The crash marks the second fatal freeway pedestrian collision in the Atlanta area within days. It follows a similar incident on August 10, when a pedestrian was killed overnight on I-75 North in Buckhead. Hoodline also reported on a fatal pedestrian strike in May along a different stretch of I-85 South in DeKalb County, and on a death earlier this month on Moreland Avenue that police attributed in part to a dark, unlit corridor.
Why Highway Speeds Are Almost Never Survivable
Multi-lane freeway strikes like this one are rarely survivable. Roughly 9 out of 10 pedestrians hit by a vehicle traveling 40 mph or faster suffer fatal injuries, according to research cited by Butler Kahn, and I-85 South typically carries traffic moving at 55 to 65 mph or faster. Darkness compounds the danger: a Governors Highway Safety Association report found that 82.9% of pedestrian fatalities on U.S. interstates occur in dark conditions, with interstates accounting for more than 800 pedestrian deaths nationally each year.
The trend lines in Georgia point the same direction. Pedestrian fatalities statewide grew 90% between 2014 and 2023, rising from 163 to 310 annual deaths, per Georgia Department of Transportation data, with non-motorists making up 20% of all Georgia traffic deaths in 2023 despite being involved in under 1% of crashes. State transportation records show 84% of pedestrian fatalities happen during low-light or overnight hours, and 95% occur outside marked crosswalks.
A Chronically Dangerous Interchange
The crash site sits near an interchange with a documented safety record. Metropolitan Parkway SW, which meets I-85 close to where the man was struck, is designated one of the ten most dangerous corridors on Atlanta's High-Injury Network by traffic safety group Propel ATL, which notes that less than 8% of Atlanta streets account for 88% of the city's traffic fatalities. The Georgia Department of Transportation and MARTA are currently pursuing signalization and arterial rapid transit upgrades along Metropolitan Parkway SW aimed at improving safety near South Atlanta's interstate interchanges, since the corridor functions as a primary alternative route to I-85 itself.
For now, the core facts of Wednesday night's crash remain open questions for investigators. Police have not said how many vehicles struck the man, released the identities of any drivers, or indicated whether charges are being considered under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-270 for failing to stop. The Accident Investigations Unit's review of the circumstances is ongoing.
