Columbia , AL :Chain-reaction crash closes Interstate 70 overnight on Friday , June 19th 2015

ix people were hurt, and Interstate 70 westbound was closed just west of the Highway 63 connector for more than an hour after an early-morning accident Friday that
involved five tractor-trailers.The accident happened when one of the semis ran off the right side of the road about 12:45 a.m. and hit the concrete barrier, Columbia
police Officer Latisha Stroer said in a news release. The driver, 50-year-old Richard Van Bebber of Liberty, overcorrected and hit the guardrail on the left side of
the road and went into a ditch.Stroer said the four other semis were traveling behind the first truck and were not able to stop, setting off a chain reaction of
crashes. Both lanes were blocked from 12:47 to 2:02 a.m. All lanes were open at 6:40 a.m.Two drivers and three passengers were taken to a hospital for injuries that
were not life-threatening: Van Bebber; Craig Bryan, 44, of Killen, Ala.; Rhonda Tingle, 38, of Leighton, Ala.; Edward Deards, 52, of Wilmington, Ohio; Jerri Deards,
48, also of Wilmington; and Regina Wright, 49, of Greenville, S.C. Bryan was driving the second truck with Tingle as a passenger. Edwards Deards was driving the third
truck, and Jerri Deards was a passenger. The drivers of the fourth and fifth trucks, Raymond George, 44, of Fort Myers, Fla.; and Leon Tiller, 49, of Belleville, Ill.,
were not injured. Wright was a passenger in George’s truck.All vehicles had moderate to heavy damage and were towed from the scene. Stroer said it was not clear what
caused Van Bebber to lose control of his vehicle and that she did not know if fatigue or intoxicants were suspected.Columbia Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve
Potter said all of the trucks leaked fuel in varying amounts.After the injured were taken to University Hospital, fire department and Missouri Department of
Transportation crews began to clean up the fuel spill, patching the tanks and using a biodegradable absorbent chemical to soak up fuel, Potter said.“We were able to
contain it where nothing got out of hand,” Potter said of the fuel leaks. The fire department cleared the scene at 5:41 a.m.MoDOT crews also cleared some debris from
the roadway, mostly smaller items that the tow trucks had not taken, said Mike Belt, MoDOT maintenance superintendent for Boone and Cole counties. The towing companies
removed the trucks and larger debris and siphoned some fuel out of the gas tanks to prevent leaks during towing, Belt said.

Source :

Chain-reaction crash closes Interstate 70 overnight