3 wrecks on I-40 within 12 hours; elderly woman killed

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Traffic on Interstate 40 came to a stop Friday morning as crews tried to clean up an overturned tractor-trailer.

“A tractor-trailer clipped the back of another one and overturned here, blocking the entire westbound side here on I-40 at the 102,” Henderson Rescue Squad Assistant Chief Clint Allen said.

Crews say they got the call around 3:30 a.m. Friday to the accident near the 102 mile marker.

We were there as they tried to clear the overturned Estes truck, which was carrying two trailers at the time.

“The driver is OK at this time. He was transported to the hospital by EMS. We did have to extricate the driver out of the vehicle, but as far as we know he is OK,” Allen said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol says they dragged the trailers off the highway into a truck parking area.

Later Friday, crews planned to come out and unload the trucks and then upright them and take them away from the scene.

“This is the third crash on I-40 in the last 12-hour period,” Allen said.

“We had an overturned passenger vehicle at the 118, another one at the 103 and then another around 3:40 this morning,” Allen said.

Officials say two people, including a 2-month-old baby, were involved in the two-car crash Friday morning.

As for the overturned car Thursday evening, the Tennessee Highway Patrol confirms 76-year-old Ingrid Crews was killed when the driver of the car left the road, hit a guardrail and overturned in the median.

The 83-year-old behind the wheel was not injured.

“Everyone pay attention and use your turning signals. The main thing is to pay attention and not to text and drive,” Allen said.