In The News
6 die when big rig crashes into vehicles at construction site
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that it was sending a go-team to investigate a crash in southern Tennessee that killed six people and police said occurred when a tractor trailer hit eight other vehicles that were stopped because of construction.
Chattanooga Police Department spokesman Kyle Miller said the accident happened around 7:10 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 75 northbound near the suburb of Ooltewah.
Miller said a total of 18 people in 9 vehicles were involved in the crash. Six died, six were taken to area hospitals and six weren't injured.
He said police are still investigating the cause.
The northbound lanes of I-75 reopened Friday morning, about 12 hours after the crash, when crews finished removing debris from the roadway.
Police did not release the identities of those who were involved in the crash. Miller said some people who died were from out-of-state and authorities were still trying to reach relatives.
Miller said it was the largest number of fatalities the police department has seen in a single accident in a decade. He said it was also the most vehicles the police department has seen in a single accident in that time period.
He said that area of I-75 has seen only one other fatality in the past five years.
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