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RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – The interstate was shut down for hours and residents were ordered to evacuate their homes early Wednesday afternoon due to a semi crash involving toxic chemicals.
It happened on Interstate 24 West near Epps Mill Road around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a semi carrying sugar was traveling on I-24 when the driver hit a utility trailer sitting in the traveling lane.
The truck left the roadway and struck an embankment before rolling over.
A second truck hauling chlorine was traveling the same direction when it also hit the trailer in the roadway.
It then ran off the road, hit a guard rail, and landed in a tree line where it spilled chlorine and caught fire.
The incident led the Rutherford County Emergency Management to ask all nearby residents and drivers to stay clear of the area, citing HAZMAT concerns.
A short time later, people from as many as 150 homes in Buchanan Estates were asked to evacuate.
A shelter was set up to the Patterson Park Community Center on Mercury Boulevard to assist the temporarily displaced homeowners, who were allowed back home just after 12:30 p.m. once the chemical fire was extinguished.
By 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, one lane on either side of the interstate had been reopened. All westbound lanes were opened by 9 p.m., while eastbound lanes reopened about 10:30 p.m.
Both semi drivers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. No charges have been filed for the crash.
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – The interstate was shut down for hours and residents were ordered to evacuate their homes early Wednesday afternoon due to a semi crash involving toxic chemicals.
It happened on Interstate 24 West near Epps Mill Road around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a semi carrying sugar was traveling on I-24 when the driver hit a utility trailer sitting in the traveling lane.
The truck left the roadway and struck an embankment before rolling over.
A second truck hauling chlorine was traveling the same direction when it also hit the trailer in the roadway.
It then ran off the road, hit a guard rail, and landed in a tree line where it spilled chlorine and caught fire.
The incident led the Rutherford County Emergency Management to ask all nearby residents and drivers to stay clear of the area, citing HAZMAT concerns.
A short time later, people from as many as 150 homes in Buchanan Estates were asked to evacuate.
A shelter was set up to the Patterson Park Community Center on Mercury Boulevard to assist the temporarily displaced homeowners, who were allowed back home just after 12:30 p.m. once the chemical fire was extinguished.
By 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, one lane on either side of the interstate had been reopened. All westbound lanes were opened by 9 p.m., while eastbound lanes reopened about 10:30 p.m.
Both semi drivers were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. No charges have been filed for the crash.
