Police ID 2 Killed After Car Slams Into Tractor Trailer

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Sandy Springs police have released new details in the fatal accident that killed two people and closed nearly all lanes on the westbound side of I-285 near the Chattahoochee River early Wednesday. The accident occurred just after 5 a.m. June 27 just west of the New Northside Drive/Northside Drive/Powers Ferry Road interchange.

Preliminary information indicates the passenger vehicle crashed into the back of the tractor trailer after traffic slowed down or stopped for construction activity, said Sandy Springs police spokesperson Capt. Forrest Bohannon.

The vehicle's driver, 33-year-old Derrien O'Neal of Atlanta, and passenger, Atlanta resident Sydni Hackett, 31, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck did not suffer any injuries, Capt. Bohannon told Patch.

Capt. Bohannon said police did not find any indicators of impairment during the investigation. Sandy Springs police had to close four of five westbound lanes Wednesday morning to process the scene of the accident. Those lanes reopened around 9 a.m.

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Image via Georgia 511/Georgia Department of Transportation