Deadly accident on Interstate

Two tractor-trailers collided leading to a chain reaction crash.

The accident occurred at 6:45 a.m., on Interstate 790. A total of four tractor-trailers and 14 cars were involved. Fire Chief Tony Sullivan said, "It looked like something from a war zone. Bodies laying along the road, people covered with blood sitting next to their cars, emergency workers running from place to place trying to help the injured, and the sirens wailing."

Authorities know that two were killed and 20 others injured, four were seriously hurt. Sullivan said that those who were seriously hurt have life-threatening injuries.

The police department is not done investigating. According to police department’s Sgt. Albert Wei, police officers on the scene had trouble identifying the drivers, passengers, and the vehicles they were in.

"My firefighters had to cut the roofs off three of the cars to free the drivers and passengers that were trapped inside," Sullivan said, "in my 18 and a half years I’ve been with the fire department, I've never seen anything this bad." All five of the fire department’s ambulances were on the scene, along with ones from four nearby cities. Two of the drivers and passengers with the worst injuries were flown to the trauma center in Statesville.

According to Wie, the accident, which happened in the northbound lanes, closed the entire highway; north and south. The interstate was still closed at 10 a.m. he has no idea of when it would open again. Traffic on I-790 had to take Interstate 690, causing traffic for three hours.