Greene County, Tennessee Truck Accident Injurs 3
A three-vehicle collision on Interstate 81 in Greene County injured three people. The motor vehicle crash happened in Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 11:15 p.m., as reported by the Greeneville Sun.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol officials, a contractor hired to install reflectors along I-81 by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/ was being escorted by a State Trooper, when a tractor-trailer slammed into the patrol car and the truck he was following. The semi-truck then left the highway and careened into a wooded ravine, and came to a stop over a concrete drainage ditch around 12 to 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide. The driver of the big rig, Gary Higgins, was trapped inside the heavily damaged 18-wheeler. A passenger in the sleeping compartment identified as, Jonathan Taylor, managed to free himself from the wreckage. Both Higgins and Taylor were rushed to Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center by emergency medical services (EMS) crews for treatment.
Taylor was reportedly treated and released, and Higgins is listed in fair condition. The State Trooper, Nathan Hall, was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport for treatment. It is unknown if the contractor was injured in the crash. The rescue effort took ten firefighters and four trucks to complete. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is conducting a full investigation into the three-vehicle accident.