ATLANTA — It’s been two years since a massive fire engulfed I-85 and sent part of it crashing down near Piedmont Road, with massive flames and black plumes of smoke hanging in the air.
The incident began around 6 p.m. on March 30, 2017, but quickly erupted into something more as large flames enveloped the northbound lanes on both sides and dark smoke rose from under the Buford-Spring Connector.
Despite it being one of the busiest thoroughfares in metro Atlanta, no one was hurt. But the damage and destruction crippled Atlanta.
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Investigators determined that the fire was caused by a homeless man who let the fire. According to Atlanta Police, Basil Eleby had been smoking crack before he set fire to a “chair set on top of a shopping cart.” The fire quickly spread to combustibles nearby and caught fire on the bridge.
Before the I-85 collapse, Eleby was a common figure walking the streets of Midtown. He was certainly no stranger to business in the area and helped out local businesses by taking out the trash, cleaning and sweeping.
"He's quiet but not all the way there," said Mike, an employee at a liquor store off of Cheshire Bridge Road, who spoke to 11Alive after Eleby's arrest. "But not just a rogue person who is running around trying to burn down a whole bridge that going to cause chaos in Atlanta."
Eleby always maintained his innocence. He pleaded not guilty in court, was granted bond and checked into an 18-month long drug treatment program.
A year after the fire, 11Alive interviewed Eleby, who said he was in a much better place than he was when the bridge collapsed.
"It took that for me to turn my life around to get what I always wanted – what I always asked God for, and that's my sobriety,” Eleby said.
In April 2018, the National Transportation Safety Board deemed that Georgia Department of Transportation was at least possibly responsible for the collapse – due to the decision to store construction materials under the bridge, failing to realize the risk.
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It took GDOT crews about 6 weeks to rebuild the interstate. The disaster has become a case example for the Federal Highway Administration to warn other states to not store flammable material under bridges.