Three people have been killed in a crash involving multiple vehicles that shut down Interstate 40 in Cumberland County for several hours.
The incident happened around 1:57 p.m. Friday near mile marker 320 in the westbound lanes.
Those with the Tennessee Department of Transportation closed to westbound traffic and eastbound traffic had one lane open. Drivers were being diverted to alternate routes.
According to preliminary reports from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a truck tractor that was not hauling a trailer drove into the median from the eastbound lanes into the westbound lanes hitting three other vehicles causing a chain reaction.
the truck tractor hit one a passenger vehicle and forced it to go airborne which landed in the grass. The truck tractor is a truck hauling other vehicles head on. Both the truck tractor and tractor trailer burst into flames.
The fourth vehicle, a passenger vehicle, crashed when it tried to swerve away from the crash and hit debris.
Both truck drivers and the driver of one of the passenger vehicles were killed.
The driver of the truck tractor was 44-year-old Erik S. New, the driver of the tractor trailer was identified as 60-year-old Noel Feliciano and the third victim was 50-year-old Nancy E. Tooley.
A passenger inside the third vehicle was injured and airlifted to the hospital. That victim's condition was unknown.
The road reopened around 8:40 p.m.
