Multi-car pile up shuts down interstate during winter storm

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News was on I-40 Friday afternoon in Henderson County at an accident that Tennessee highway patrol says led to a 25 to 30 car pile up. The cause of this wreck is not confirmed, but drivers we spoke with describe a dangerous situation caused by winter weather.

“About two miles back, couldn’t see, vehicles pulling over, people stopping in the middle of the road and then just chain reactions so, it turned bad quickly,” said Shane McCarrell, affected by the wreck.

Officials tell us, the accident happened around 11:00 Friday morning, but was still a mess over six hours later. Both west bound lanes were closed throughout the day, with tow trucks going in and out, carrying away one damaged vehicle after another.
One driver says, he along with other good Samaritans involved in the accident, took action when they noticed a woman badly injured. The storm was so bad, he says, ambulances were unable to reach her.

“So me and a couple other guys actually jumped into the vehicle, knocked the back window out of their vehicle, pulled her out, and put her in a four wheel drive truck and took her a couple miles down the road,” McCarrell said, “because broken jaw and probably some internal stuff.”

“How did you knock the window out,” asked WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Reporter Amanda Gerry.

“It was already half way knocked out, so a couple of us just put a blanket over it and knocked it out, and we pulled her through the back window and got her into a vehicle that could actually get up and down the road,” said McCarrell, “because their vehicle is still actually right there smashed on the side of the road.”

By 6:00, the road was still shut down; pieces of cars scattered about the interstate. McCarrell says, he doesn’t plan on testing his luck once his path is cleared.

“My trip to Texas has been put on hold for now, and I’m going to try to get on a safe highway and get back home to the family,” McCarrell said, “and feel blessed to not be in one of these ambulances that left here today.”

McCarell also says just two miles or so behind that pile up on I-40 was another accident that he says he just managed to get past before he was confronted with this one. Experts remind drivers to be extra cautious when facing winter weather conditions again Saturday.