CHATTANOOGA, Tenn - Sunday, October 12,2008 - 4:00 am - City of Chattanooga
Firefighters and medics with Hamilton County EMS responded to a reported
accident on Interstate 24 Eastbound at the Spring Creek Road Overpass.
Rescuers arrived on the scene within minutes and quickly found the red car
on it's top in a dense area of trees in the median of the interstate.
Emergency crews determined that three of the
six people riding in the car at the time of the crash had been fatally
injured by the crash. The other three were people were quickly extricated
from the wreckage and loaded into two medic units. Those three people were
rushed to Erlanger Medical Center with a variety of injuries.
Meanwhile at the scene, firefighters
continued to work on extricating the other three patients. Firefighters were
faced with a daunting task as the other victims were severely trapped inside
the wreckage. It was almost two hours later before the last victim was
finally cut out of the wreckage.
City of Chattanooga police had to shut
down two lanes of traffic during the rescue and recovery. Police officers
are investigating the crash and are somewhat confused as to why there were
so many people traveling in this small vehicle. Charges are pending against
the driver of the car. The driver was one of the survivors of the crash.
Story and photos by Bill Carson
