Police ID driver killed in massive fiery pileup on I-75 in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police is releasing new information about a massive multi-vehicle crash that had lanes shut down on I-75 for nearly 7 hours on Thursday.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-75 near Big Shanty Road. Police said a vehicle hydroplaned and crashed into the left guardrail, and as traffic slowed, a second collision happened between two tractor-trailers and a car.

The two collisions set off a chain of crashes involving a total of 17 vehicles.

The following vehicles were involved in the fatal crash:

• A white 2002 Freightliner towing a semi-trailer,
• A green 2020 Ford F-150,
• A gray 2011 Toyota Yaris,
• A white 2015 Ford Econoline E-350,
• A white 2016 Kenworth towing a semi-trailer,
• A white 2002 GMC Savana,
• A silver 2001 Audi TT,
• A white 2017 Volkswagen Golf,
• A black 2017 RAM 3500 towing a car hauler,
• A white 3500 Chevrolet Silverado,
• A red 2011 Ram 3500 towing a two-axle gooseneck trailer,
• A blue 2019 Chevrolet Colorado,
• A silver 2016 Mercedes Sprinter Van

The driver of the Freightliner, 58-year-old Boniface Ndiangui of Marietta, was killed in the crash.

Other drivers suffered injuries in the crash but were considered non life-threatening.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden talked to first responders, who said the crash could have been much worse. Cobb County and Marietta firefighters called the operation successful.

One major challenge? There are no fire hydrants along I-75, so firefighters were forced to exit the interstate, fill up their trucks with hundreds of gallons of water and rush back to the scene six times.

Some firefighters couldn’t even get through because drivers had abandoned their vehicles so they could take pictures.

On Friday, Seiden stopped by the Marietta Wrecker service where Cobb County police were combing through the charred wreckage that is now considered evidence.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan was at the scene all day after the crash on Thursday and spoke to drivers who witnessed the crash, and some who were even victims themselves.

The drivers told Regan that there was heavy rain and nearly white-out conditions at the time of the crash.

“You could only see about forty yards in front of you,” truck driver Chris Hill said. “The truck to my right got rear-ended, broke the axles, destroyed it. Luckily, I didn’t get tangled up in that.”

It wasn’t until around 6:45 p.m. when authorities were able to fully reopen the lanes of traffic.

I-75 in Cobb County moving again after deadly, fiery crash involving 12+ cars The crash happened around 11:15 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the interstate north of Barrett Parkway.

Cox Media Group