Three killed crossing Atlanta highway

ATLANTA, July 1 (UPI) -- Three men were hit and killed by a pickup truck as they tried to cross Interstate 85 on the outskirts of Atlanta early Tuesday.

All six southbound lanes of the highway were closed for almost two hours as the morning rush hour got underway. Two lanes re-opened shortly before 7 a.m. and the rest about an hour later.

An 8-mile traffic jam extended from DeKalb County into Gwinnett County, police said.

Investigators were trying to confirm the identities of the three dead men and to determine why they were walking across I-85.

The highway connects the Atlanta area with Montgomery, Ala., to the southwest and runs northeast to the South Carolina border.