State of emergency declared as officials say no indication when Interstate 85, which carries 250,000 vehicles a day, can reopen. Three people have been arrested after an elevated section of a major north-south highway in the south-east of the US collapsed in a massive fire. Atlanta’s notoriously tangled commutes were thrown into disarray when a bridge on Interstate 85 collapsed after a fire burned for more than an hour under the northbound lanes, shutting down the busy highway through the heart of the city during rush hour on Thursday afternoon. Georgia’s deputy insurance commissioner Jay Florence confirmed the suspects were arrested on Friday. He identified them as Basil Eleby, Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas. Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, while Bruner and Thomas each was charged with criminal trespass. All three were being held at the Fulton County jail.
Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses. Traffic was bumper to bumper in the area as people scrambled to find alternative routes. Officials said no one had been hurt despite towering flames and plumes of smoke captured in dramatic video footage. This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” said Atlanta’s mayor, Kasim Reed.
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