8 Dead, 14 Injured In Bus Wreck
(5:30 A.M.) I-40, at mm-421, has just reopened according to Tennessee Highway Patrol.Eight people are dead and 14 others are injured after a chartered bus from North Carolina crashed on I-40 just across the Tennessee border. A church group from Statesville was on the bus. They were on their way home from a trip to Gatlinburg Wednesday afternoon when they crashed. Tennessee Highway Patrol says a church bus blew a tire, veered across the median, hitting an SUV and a tractor trailer. The bus, carrying a senior church group from Statesville, flipped over and the truck burst into flames. Troopers say six of the people killed were on the bus. Others killed include the driver of the truck and another person in the SUV.The crash shut down the interstate causing major traffic backups. Drivers had to detour through Johnson City along I-26. News 13 spoke with drivers who had to be rerouted. The detour added over an hour and a half of drive time to everyone's trip by taking drivers through Madison County on I-26 to get back onto I-40. I-40 is still closed as of 9 p.m. Wednesday in both directions at mm-421. TDOT is advising westbound I-40 travelers to get off at Exit 432 to US 25/70 West to State Route 92 North back to I-40 Westbound at Exit 417. TDOT is advising travelers heading toward North Carolina on eastbound I-40 to take Interstate 81 Northbound to Interstate 26 Eastbound and then back to I-40 Eastbound in North Carolina. Traffic is being rerouted on the eastbound side at the I-40, I-81 junction. On the westbound side, the traffic is being diverted at mile marker 432. _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: / news13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: / wlos_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: / wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Cha... Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anch... Watch more top local news stories: • Western Loses At ETSU, Highlights and more For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
