Knoxville, TN : Two people dead after a fiery crash on Interstate 40 East near downtown Knoxville early Wednesday, June 20, 2016
A 21-year-old Maryville College graduate, one of two people killed Wednesday morning in a fiery, head-on collision on Interstate 40 East near downtown, gave himself to the school and was known for being one of its student leaders.
“I knew Anthony mainly because he was a very active student on this campus,” said the Rev. Dr. Anne McKee, the college’s minister.
“It’s a close community and you know students and you especially know students like Anthony. … He gave himself to this community so we grieve that loss and we feel deeply grateful that he was here and we got to share four years of his life.”
Anthony Swartz was behind the wheel of a 2002 Suzuki XL7 traveling the wrong way on I-40 when it struck an oncoming tractor-trailer loaded with more than 800 pounds of flammable hazardous material, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
The crash, reported shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday just west the Interstate 275 interchange, shut down all lanes of I-40 for eight hours as emergency responders and maintenance crews worked to clear the wreckage and repair the roadway.
Knox County E-911 initially received a reported sighting of a white SUV pulling onto I-40 East in the wrong direction from James White Parkway, followed my multiple calls about the crash less than a minute later, said KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
“It was all just within a matter of seconds,” DeBusk said.
The truck driver was identified as Carroll Trent, 67, of Evington, Va., who drove for Richmond, Va.-based Estes Express Lines.
“The prayers of our 16,000 employees go out to Mr. Trent’s family and friends as well as those of the driver of the other vehicle,” Curtis Carr, Estes Express Lines vice president of corporate safety, said in a written statement.
“Safety is our number priority and we do all within our power to assure everyone arrives safely to their destination each and every day. Mr. Trent’s death has left a hole in our hearts. It is, indeed, a sad day for Estes.”
Wednesday’s crash is the third wrong way driving wreck along that stretch of Interstate 40 since July 2011, according to records from KPD. The other two wrecks, which also involved drivers in their 20s between the time of 1 a.m. and 2:45 a.m., both occurred in 2013.
At Maryville College, Swartz — who was also a graduate of Gibbs High School — was a resident assistant, participated in the college’s Mountain Challenge program, ran cross country and was also a peer mentor.
He graduated in May with a degree in Chemistry, and McKee added that one of his professors told her on Wednesday that he had been one of the most brilliant students that had come through the program in a long time.
Swartz, McKee said, was also known for his humor.
“He was funny. He was very funny guy and you could just watch him interacting with his friends and know how much they loved him and how much they valued him and what a gentle person he was,” she said. “And I think he had a heart of compassion.”
McKee said Swartz’s death affects the entire campus because he is part of their community.
“We just watched him walk across the stage in May, at graduation,” she said. “We all remember Anthony and also we’re just broken for the loss now but also the loss of everything that he would have contributed. He’s too young.”
McKee also expressed her grief for Trent, the truck driver.
“It’s jut an awful, awful thing,” she said.
KPD Sgt. Nate Skellenger was the first emergency responder to reach the scene, finding the tandem tractor-trailer engulfed in flames with wreckage scattered across the interstate in both directions. The truck’s engine was on the opposite side of the concrete median wall, blocking the westbound inside lane.
The sergeant then noticed the truck driver’s body amid the debris.
“There was just no (truck) cab around him,” said Skellenger, who described the scene as one of the worst he’s seen in his nearly 10 years as a law enforcement officer.
The body of the SUV’s driver was found inside the wreckage.
Investigators are working to determine a time line of events for Swartz before the crash, including what might have caused him to drive the wrong way onto the interstate, DeBusk said.
The semi-truck was en route from Nashville to Virginia, hauling approximately 860 pounds of the hazardous chemical Benzoquinone, according to Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran. The highly flammable material, which is used in the production of paints and dyes, was being transported in powder form.
Contracted emergency response teams with Hepaco Inc. and First Responder were called to remove the material while all I-40 traffic was detoured to I-275.
The westbound lanes reopened about 9 a.m. All west- and eastbound lanes reopened by 11 a.m.
Tennessee Department of Transportation crews dug up several inches of the roadway to remove any contamination that might have seeped into the asphalt, and then repaved the section of interstate.
A large section of concrete median wall demolished by the crash also had to be repaired.
Corcoran said KFD’s hazmat unit allowed the chemical to burn to avoid runoff from a water-soluble foam, which would be more hazardous.
Constant air monitoring was conducted around the wreck site, he said, and the foam was blanketed over the chemical to smother the flames.
The tractor-trailer, registered to Estes Express, was en route from Nashville to Virginia, Skellenger said. Estes is headquartered in Richmond, Va. with offices in Knoxville as well, according to its website.
Source :
Maryville College grad killed in fiery I-40 crash remembered for giving to community