A driver who struck two roadside contractors near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport fled the scene before returning to identify himself, and is now in custody with charges pending.
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Two landscape workers were struck while working alongside Interstate 85 in College Park on Thursday afternoon, leaving one dead and the other fighting for his life.
Police confirmed that one worker was killed and the other remains in serious condition with life-threatening injuries. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man who died as 37-year-old Celestino Pora-Carrillo. The injured worker and the driver have not been identified.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the two were “working in the grass gore area between the I-85 NB C/D lanes and the ramps to North Inner Loop Road” when a white Chevrolet Malibu veered off the roadway to the right, struck both men and left the scene. Both workers were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where one of them died. The Georgia Department of Transportation confirmed that the men were contractors working for GDOT.
Investigators say the driver initially fled but later returned and identified himself to College Park Police officers. The Georgia State Patrol said the driver is in custody with charges pending.
The crash happened just after 3 p.m. near the airport, and the interstate fully reopened just before 6:30 p.m. The deaths have renewed attention on Georgia’s move over law, which requires drivers to shift over one lane when emergency, department of transportation, utility and tow vehicles are stopped on the highway for work. When traffic is too heavy to move over safely, drivers are required to slow below the speed limit and be prepared to stop.
“That’s exactly where I was headed to go home,” driver Val Watson said, describing the area as a sober reminder to stay alert. “I say all the time people drive in Atlanta just to get where they are going, not to get there safely. I’m trying to drive for me and everybody around.”
More than 30 states now have move over laws. Georgia passed its version in 2003 following a rise in deaths among construction workers and emergency responders, and lawmakers expanded it in 2016 to include utility linemen. The injured worker’s condition remains serious as the investigation continues and charges against the driver are pending.
