Knoxville, TN : Two dead in I-40 East accident near the Asheville Hwy exit of I-40 eastbound in Knoxville on Friday, May 30, 2014

Two people were killed in a crash that shut down Interstate 40 East at the Asheville Highway interchange Friday afternoon, according to the Knoxville Police Department said.

Sgt. Travis Brasfield said the wreck initially was reported shortly after 4 p.m., and involved six vehicles. When officers arrived on the scene, they realized it was two separate collisions.

Two people died and one person was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in the first crash and one person was injured and taken to U.T. Medical Center in the second wreck, he said.

A tractor-trailer was driving behind a small pickup truck that was behind a large SUV when, for an unknown reason, traffic suddenly stopped, Brasfield said.

The tractor-trailer hit the pickup and the pickup truck then hit the SUV. The impact from the tractor-trailer crushed the pickup truck and the two occupants inside were killed, Brasfield said.

“When the one crash happened, traffic went to chaos,” Brasfield said.

He said a pickup truck swerved and struck the center wall, sideswiped a tractor-trailer and then hit a Dodge Charger.

Traffic at one point was backed up more than four miles, and it was 10 p.m. before all lanes of traffic were reopened.

Source :
Two killed in I-40 crash near Asheville Highway exit