JUNE 26, 2015
CHATTANOOGA, TENN.
NTSB INVESTIGATING MULTI-VEHICLE CRASH IN TENNESSEE
JUNE 26, 2015
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a
go-team to investigate yesterday’s multi-vehicle accident in Chattanooga,
Tennessee. Six fatalities have been reported.
NTSB senior highway investigator Pete Kotowski is leading
the team as investigator-in-charge. The team is expected to arrive this
evening.
Public Affairs Officer Keith Holloway will coordinate
media-related activities from Washington, DC.
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JUNE 26, 2015
Two children are among the six people dead after a
nine-vehicle crash on I-75 yesterday.
Police said eight of the nine vehicles involved in the fatal
crash were stopped in the road because of construction when a tractor trailer
came up from behind, was unable to stop and plowed into the vehicles.
Eighteen people were involved in the wreck. Six were taken
to a local hospital and six required no medical treatment, according to
police.
Four people killed were in one vehicle, which was on fire,
police said. The children were inside that vehicle. The other two people were
killed in separate cars.
Police identified the truck driver as 39-year-old Benjamin
Scott Brewer from Kentucky. He was driving north from Florida. Police say they
don't know where he was heading.
Brewer is under investigation and has been interviewed by
police, though authorities declined to release what he said.
This is the highest fatality crash in Chattanooga during the
last 10 years, according to police. Before Thursday, only one person had been
killed on the Chattanooga stretch of I-75 during the last five years.
Jame Gillis, 35, said he was driving ahead of the crash and
watched it in his rearview mirror.
"That truck was mowing cars down," he said.
"I know that for sure. I saw them get hit."
Gillis pulled over and ran back into the fiery wreck to try
to help people. Some men and women were already dead as he ran through,
frantically looking for a fire extinguisher and screaming for help.
"It was the most shocking thing I've ever seen in my
life," Gillis said.
Gillis carried one woman, covered in fuel, away from her
vehicle to safety. He said she survived.
"I can't get the images out of my head," Gillis
said.
The crash happened at 7:10 p.m. Thursday night, around Exit
11 on I-75 northbound. Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher called the wreck
"one of the worst crashes I've seen."
Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer
Flynn said workers are in the middle of a resurfacing project, and the work
zone stretches from from mile marker 13 to mile marker 19 on I-75 northbound.
The work happens overnight, she said, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The crash happened just before the construction zone, as the
lanes were tapering down to make room for the work zone, Flynn said.
She was not sure how many lanes were open at the spot the
crash occurred. She added that TDOT had multiple warnings up about the work
zone and said that the department followed all federal guidelines on how to set
up the lane closures.
"Ever message board from the 24-split to there was
warning about this," she said. "We had a Highway Patrolman there in
the taper with flashing lights on."
Police said the family members of all the people killed in
the crash have been notified.
Ocoee Middle School's band director, Brian Gallaher, was one
of the six people killed in the crash, according to Bradley County Sheriff's
spokesman Ed Ramsey.
The Ocoee Middle School community was just beginning to
mourn Friday morning, as news of Gallaher's death spread.
"I was in the Cleveland High Band many years ago and it
takes a lot to impress me," said Vicky Vicars. "Brian's middle school
program impressed me quite a bit and I am so glad my child could have had him
for a band instructor."
Police have also confirmed that 36-year-old Jason Ramos, an
employee at Dalton State, was killed in the wreck.
Ramos worked as the college's assistant director of
residential life, spokeswoman Pam Partain said in a release. He'd been working
at the North Georgia college for about two years.
"Jason's incredible work ethic and humor are the two
things that I valued the most in working with him," said Natalie
Bates, Director of Residential Life. "He brought a lot of fun and humor
to our office. and it was incredibly evident that he loved working with
students and took pride in his job. This is a great loss to our roadrunner
community and he will be sorely missed."
//------------------///
JUNE 26, 2015
Six people died in a nine-vehicle wreck on Interstate 75 in
Tennessee Thursday, police said.
Chattanooga Police Department spokesman Kyle Miller said the
accident happened around 7:10 p.m. on I-75 northbound near Ooltewah.
Miller said investigators were working overnight to
determine the cause of the crash.
While information is still being obtained, it is confirmed
there are multiple fatalities #chanews
cause undetermined pic.twitter.com/XZC83Hleds
— Chattanooga Police (@ChattanoogaPD) June 26, 2015
Police believe more than 15 people were involved in the
accident. However, the exact number is still being determined because multiple
groups were taken to local hospitals.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
Northbound lanes of I-75 were shut down after the accident
and traffic was redirected. Police expect the lanes to be closed into the early
morning hours.
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6 DEAD IN HIGHWAY CRASH NEAR CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
JUN 26, 2015, 12:57 AM ET
By ABC NEWS via Good
Morning America
At least six people were killed in a highway accident near
Chattanooga, Tennessee, police said.
The accident happened after 7 p.m. Thursday along I-75
northbound.
The accident involved 15 people in nine vehicles, according
to police. There’s no word on what caused the accident.
A section of the highway was shut down in the hours
following the accident.
The victims’ identities have not been released.