A physical fight that Atlanta police say began inside a vehicle traveling on Interstate 85 ended on the shoulder of the highway Saturday morning, where the confrontation continued after several people got out.
Then one of the people involved ran into traffic.
Police said 26-year-old Michaela Kemp entered an active southbound lane near the Georgia 400 interchange and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. She died at the scene.
The driver who struck Kemp stopped and remained there while Atlanta Police Department’s Accident Investigations Unit began sorting out how a fight inside one vehicle ended with a fatal collision on one of the city’s busiest highways.
Out Of The Car
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Atlanta police were called to I-85 South near the Georgia 400 interchange at about 2:25 a.m. Saturday, according to Atlanta News First.
The events leading to that call had begun before anyone was standing alongside the interstate.
Police said Kemp was involved in a physical fight inside a vehicle as it traveled on I-85. At some point, the driver pulled onto the shoulder, and several people got out.
Getting out of the vehicle did not end the confrontation. Police said the fight continued outside.
Kemp then ran into a travel lane and was hit by an oncoming vehicle, according to WSB-TV.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
What Happened Next
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the woman as Kemp.
The driver who struck her did not leave. Police said the driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
That detail matters because one of the questions raised by viewers of news coverage was whether Kemp had been pushed into traffic during the fight.
The accounts released so far do not say that she was. Police told multiple Atlanta news outlets that Kemp ran or darted into the lane during the confrontation. 11Alive likewise reported that police said Kemp ran into traffic.
Police have not publicly detailed what started the fight or identified the other people involved in it.
Still Under Review
The Atlanta Police Department’s Accident Investigations Unit responded to the scene and is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision and whether charges could be filed.
As of Sunday, the department’s public news archive did not contain a release for Kemp’s death. The police account available publicly has instead come through information APD provided to Atlanta news outlets.
The fatal collision came amid an unusually deadly weekend on metro Atlanta interstates. Atlanta News First reported that five people died in interstate crashes over the weekend, including three who were outside vehicles when they were struck.
Those deaths occurred under different circumstances. In Kemp’s case, police say the sequence began with a fight inside a moving vehicle, continued after the vehicle stopped on the shoulder, and ended when she entered an active lane of I-85.