ATLANTA (AP) – A crash along a Georgia interstate that engulfed two vehicles in flames has left at least two people dead, authorities said Saturday.
Officials in Gwinnett County said the accident occurred on Interstate 85 northbound at about 7:50 a.m.
Large flames and thick black smoke could be seen billowing off the interstate near the Jimmy Carter Boulevard exit. Police heard a loud explosion and found a tanker truck and a passenger vehicle completely engulfed in flames.
A statement posted on the Gwinnett County government website said an “unidentified flammable liquid from the tanker” seeped into a nearby storm drain, causing the fire to spread underground and then up through another storm drain.
“This resulted in multiple fires and large smoke stacks on and around both Interstate 85 northbound and southbound,” the statement said. Fire crews from Gwinnett and Dekalb counties were able to extinguish the flames.
