Winston Salem, NC : Several drivers and passengers in their vehicles on Interstate 77 on Friday, November, 3rd 2017

Several drivers and passengers in their vehicles on Interstate 77 rescued a driver from a burning tractor-trailer after it struck another tractor-trailer Friday morning, authorities said.

The incident happened shortly before 9 a.m. when Nola Weir, 54, of Conover was driving a tractor-trailer on I-77 South near mile marker 101, according to both John Shelton, the director of the Surry County Emergency Services, and a spokesman for the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The tractor-trailer, which Weir was driving, struck the rear cargo area of another tractor-trailer that was parked near to a guardrail along the highway, Shelton said. Weir’s tractor-trailer erupted in flames and spilled the paper products it was carrying.

Several drivers and passengers inside their vehicles saw the crash and got Weir out of the burning cab of her vehicle, Shelton said. Weir was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where she was in fair condition Friday, a hospital spokesman said.

The driver of the parked tractor-trailer wasn’t injured in the crash, Shelton said. The impact caused that driver’s vehicle to spill its load of peat moss.

The crash closed the southbound I-77 lanes at that site for four hours, Shelton said. The delay caused a chain reaction around 9:20 a.m. involving four vehicles, he said.

Two people, John Smith, 49, and Juanita Plummer, 46, both of Palm Bay, Fla., sustained non life-threatening injuries and were taken to Northern Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy, Shelton said.

Authorities reopened one lane of traffic at the highway’s crash site at 1 p.m. Friday, Shelton said.

Source :
Bystanders rescue driver of tractor-trailer that burned in wreck on I-77