Man faces arson charge in Atlanta overpass blaze

ATLANTA -- A man accused of starting a raging fire that collapsed a portion of Interstate 85 a few miles north of downtown Atlanta was charged with arson Saturday.

The first-degree arson charge was added to a first-degree criminal damage to property charge Basil Eleby already faced in connection with the fire Thursday evening that caused a heavily traveled overpass to disintegrate. Total bond was set at $200,000.

Eleby's next court appearance was set for April 14.

Online jail records show Eleby has been arrested more than a dozen times since 1995, mostly on drug charges.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Eleby was arrested Friday along with Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas. Bruner and Thomas were charged with criminal trespass.

"We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire," Florence said.

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

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air and crippling a major traffic artery in a city known for dreadful rush-hour congestion.

Firefighters shut down the roadway before it fell and retreated safely without injury.

The highway collapse in Atlanta forced commuters Friday to find different routes to work or to use mass transit. Things won't be back to normal for months, said Russell McMurry, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

McMurry told a news conference Friday that 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through Atlanta and is one of the South's most important north-south routes. He said repairs will take "at least several months."