Man said he was ‘devastated’ after hitting cement prongs along I-285 causing $2,000 in damage

ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta driver is raising safety concerns after an incident on Interstate 285 left his car with over $2,000 in damages.

The driver, Brian Briggs, said he couldn’t avoid hitting two cemented prongs on the highway.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln visited the scene on 285 where the incident occurred and found the two metal prongs sticking out of the highway.

Briggs described the encounter as an immediate impact.

“It was like immediate, pop pop. I heard and felt it,” Briggs said.

He said he knew instantly that the impact caused severe damage. The prongs were located along Interstate 285 westbound at Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

“I’m disgusted at why they would leave something like this in the roadway,” he said.

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Earlier this month, Briggs was attempting to pull onto the shoulder when he hit the prongs. The impact destroyed both his driver-side front and rear tires, costing more than $2,000 in damages.

“When I got out and looked, I was really devastated by what I saw,” Briggs said.

Briggs believes the Georgia Department of Transportation placed the prongs there to hold up a construction sign during improvements to the I-285/Peachtree Boulevard interchange that was completed in 2023.

When he sought reimbursement for the damages, a GDOT representative told him, “It’s not our responsibility because you’re not in the lane of travel.”

Despite the lack of visible prongs in a Google image from January of this year, Briggs said construction cones were present.

“I don’t want it to be a tragedy,” Briggs said.

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