COLUMBUS – A fatal accident on the Northeast Side brought rush hour traffic to a standstill in nearly a fourth of the city Thursday morning as officials were forced to close the East Outerbelt entirely for several hours.
The accident happened at 7:33 a.m. when a motorcycle traveling southbound on I-270 changed lanes and struck the rear of a Honda CRV, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said.
The motorcyclist was killed but the driver of the SUV, 28-year-old Austin Walsh did not suffer any serious injuries, Baldwin said.
The motorcyclist’s name was withheld pending notification of next-of-kin and Baldwin says the accident is still under investigation.
The southbound lanes of I-270 were closed at State Route 161 at approximately 8:00 a.m., as thousands of commuters tried to get to work or John Glenn International Airport from the Northeast or Southeast Side, Gahanna, Westerville, Reynoldsburg, Pickerington and New Albany.
The ramps from east- and westbound SR 161 to southbound I-270 were also closed, along with the ramps from Morse Road and Easton Way.
The interstate remained closed until early afternoon.