One dead in wreck on I-40 near Hope Road

An Amarillo man is dead after a wreck Monday on Interstate 40 just west of the city, a Department of Public Safety spokesman said.
Senior Trooper Chris Ray said Gerard Nzahumunyurwa, 53, died in an accident just after noon while riding in a 1999 Jeep Cherokee that was struck by a tractor-trailer.About 12:47 p.m., the Jeep’s driver, Emmanuel Musavyimana, 44, of Amarillo was either stopped or moving very slowly west on the interstate between Soncy Road and Hope Road, possibly in an attempt to cross the center median, Ray said.At that time, a 2013 Kenworth tractor-trailer driven by Noah Gibson, 42, of Knoxville, Tenn., rear-ended the Cherokee, Ray said.
The Cherokee hit a cable barrier in the median, ejecting Nzahumunyurwa, who was not wearing a seat belt, Ray said. Gibson pulled over on the side of the road after the wreck, Ray said.
Nzahumunyurwa was pronounced dead at the scene; Musavyimana suffered minor injuries, Ray said.Emergency crews blocked off I-40 east into Amarillo during the investigation, backing up traffic for more than a mile.Westbound traffic was reduced to lane, creating a long chain of vehicles stalled on the way out of town.