Driver Killed Backing Onto Interstate 85

BUFORD, GA — A South Carolina man was killed early Monday in a traffic accident on Interstate 85 near Buford.

Gwinnett County Police say Michael D. Dowis, 48, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, had been traveling south on the interstate's northbound lanes at 4:43 a.m. when he pulled into the highway's center median and began to back up.

As he backed into northbound traffic, his 2014 BMW was struck by Jeremy Weiss, 22, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who was driving a 2015 Subaru, police said.

Dowis, whom police say was not wearing a seat belt, was declared dead at the scene.

The crash happened near the Flowery Branch Road overpass. Weiss was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton.

The crash shut down northbound lanes of I-85 for about three hours.

Investigators Tuesday were still trying to figure out why Dowis was driving down the interstate in the wrong direction. They said speed did not appear to be a contributing factor in the wreck.

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