Blog 2: Story 1

Josiah Daniels

Jan. 27, 2011

16 Vehicle Accident

Fatal Multi-Car Accident on Interstate 790

     An accident involving 16 vehicles occurred on I-790 along the Western edge of the city at 6:45 a.m. today.

     The investigation is ongoing, but police believe the accident may have been started by two tractor-trailers colliding with each other. This likely caused a chain reaction, according to the police. Sgt. Albert Wei stated that four tractor-trailers and 14 cars were involved in the accident.

     Two people died as a result of the accident while 20 more were injured. Four of those 20 had, and may still have, life threatening injuries. Two of the more seriously injured people were flown to the trauma center in Statesville. One of the trucks in the collision was carrying diesel. Fortunately, none of the fuel was spilled during the collision. If it had, more injuries might have been suffered. In some instances, fire fighters had to cut through the roofs of cars in order to free trapped passengers

     The accident was severe enough to require all five of the fire department’s ambulances. Additional ambulances from four nearby cities were also brought in. Fire Chief Tony Sullivan said the accident looked like a war zone with all the bloodied people and demolished cars. Sullivan also commented on how the accident was the worst he had ever seen during his 18.5 years with the fire department. The accident caused so much confusion that the police had a hard time trying to figure out whom was driving what car.

     At 10 a.m. this morning, I-790 was still closed, going both north and south, because of the accident. The accident has also caused major delays in traffic else ware. Interstate 690 was backed up for 3 hours this morning. Sgt. Wei stated that he doesn’t know when I-790 will be open again. ###