3 arrested in connection with Interstate 85 overpass collapse

ATLANTA (AP) — Officials say three people have been arrested in connection with a massive fire under Interstate 85 in Atlanta that caused a portion of the bridge to collapse.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence confirms the suspects were arrested 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.

Florence did not have ages or hometowns of the three, all of whom were being held at the Fulton County Jail.

Florence did not say how they were developed as suspects but noted they were interviewed throughout the day and law enforcement subsequently made the arrests.

He would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses.

Officials say they haven’t determined the cause of a raging fire that collapsed an elevated span of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, where commuters can expect months of traffic headaches during lengthy repairs.

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurray told news reporters Friday the site beneath the collapsed roadway was used to store noncombustible, state-owned construction materials.

They included coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks.

McMurry said at least 350 feet of Interstate 85 northbound and southbound will have to be replaced, a job he said would take months. He would not give a more specific timeline.

Atlanta Fire Chief Joel Baker noted that even noncombustible materials can still burn. He said the materials burning beneath the collapsed span “generated a whole lot of heat.”