A trucking accident on I-85 near Charlotte, NC, caused 7 injuries on July 18.
Shortly after 8:30 am, a tractor-trailer and 3 other vehicles were involved in a very serious accident. A Ford F-150 hit the back of the semi when the truck apparently braked suddenly, leading to another passenger car crashing into the back of the Ford. The semi truck then ran over the vehicle in front of it, having failed to stop in time despite the sudden braking attempt.
“All I heard was popping of metal and plastic and glass everywhere,” said 17-year-old Carly Spina of Huntersville.
Spina and her mother were in the vehicle behind the Ford truck during the accident.
According to medics on the scene of the accident, two victims suffered life threatening injuries from the impact. Another person in the accident incurred serious and potentially life threatening injuries, while the remaining four victims only suffered minor injuries.
Six of the victims went to the Carolinas Medical Center main facility, while the seventh was taken to Presbyterian Hospital. Rescue crews had to pull two victims out of a car that was nearly completely crushed by the semi.
The accident forced all southbound lanes of the highway to close as of 8:45, according to local sheriff’s deputies. The lanes remained closed until 11:30, when all involved parties had been taken to medical facilities to be attended to, and the vehicles involved in the accident had been cleared.
It is unclear what the exact or proximate cause of the accident was. Curiously, a similar wreck took place near the same location one week before, leading to at least one death due to an out of control fire in the semi truck involved in that accident. Police have not released the name of the truck driver involved in the most recent collision.
