Drivers Identified in Thursday's I-285 Fatality Accident

UPDATE AUG. 20: Cobb police have identified the victim of the I-285 accident. 

ORIGINAL STORY AUG. 17: Cobb police have identified those involved in . The name of the passenger killed in the accident is not being released pending notification of next of kin.

The accident involved a tractor-trailer driven by 39-year-old Jamie Poole of Lula, Ga., a black Lexus GS430 driven by 37-year-old Mark Shorthouse of Atlanta and a black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Enio Tejada of Lawrenceville. Neither Poole nor Shorthouse was injured in the accident, but Tejada was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. His passenger died at the scene.

Cobb’s Public Information Officer Dana Pierce said conflicting accounts make it unclear which driver caused the accident, but it is known that an improper lane change occurred. He could confirm that the Lexus collided with both the tractor-trailer and the pickup truck.

The accident occurred around 4:30 p.m. and blocked all of I-285’s eastbound lanes for several hours.

People what they need to realize is that as inconvenienced as people feel—and I think we would all feel that—we have a sworn duty and obligation to investigate this fatality crash to the extent that is prosecutable in court,” Pierce said. “You cannot do that if you don’t properly mark the scene, if you don’t do evidence collection, if you don’t interview the witnesses and drivers and get all that information.”

The lanes impacted in the accident scene will be closed again Sunday, Aug. 17 as S.T.E.P. investigators recreate the accident and complete their investigation. Cobb police will work with Georgia Department of Transportation’s HERO team to facilitate the temporary lane closures, but drivers are still advised to avoid the area.

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