Interstate accidents are no joke. High speeds and slow reaction times can leave a single vehicle broken and stranded on the shoulder. When multiple vehicles collide, the damage is often beyond our comprehension.
WVLT-TV reports of a mass vehicle crash that left destruction in its wake, as well as created the conditions to cause further accidents on the Tennessee I-40.
Highway speeds and sudden stops
According to authorities, a 73 year old bus driver, unable to stop for stalled traffic, veered to the right out of his lane and sideswiped two adjacent vehicles. This led to a domino effect that caused 15 vehicles to crash on the immediate scene. Highway traffic that stopped as a result turned out to cause at least six more crashes between the 412 and 417 exit in Jefferson county.
Emergency medical teams transported two other victims to hospitals by ambulance.
It is unclear how many people sustained injuries in total, nor did the new station report the updated condition of each hospitalized victim.
Pieces to pick up
There are still plenty of questions to answer. Why could the bus driver not stop for the stalled traffic? Is he responsible for the bulk of the accidents or is another detail or driver at fault? The importance of patience in these investigations often requires people in pain to wait through the process.
At such high speeds, all highway drivers must share the road and exercise responsibility with each other. The kind of damage resulting from this accident may occupy each victim’s lives for some time. Whether it is making a healthy recovery in the hospital or keeping in constant contact with their insurance as the investigation continues, the hassle and trauma of this sudden interstate wreck ripples out into the months ahead.