Semi truck crashes on I-24 Thursday afternoon… Photos by Barry West
Two employees of the Tennessee Department of Transportation were flown to a Nashville hospital Thursday following a serious crash on Interstate 24. The accident happened on I-24 West near mile marker 99 just northwest of Manchester around 1:00 p.m. Traffic was already backing up in the area due to a previous crash and crews were also mowing the lawn further down the interstate. Two TDOT workers, 54-year-old Tony Hayworth and 50-year-old David Shelton, noticed the backup and decided to get into their utility truck and turn on a flashing sign that read “move over” in order to alert oncoming traffic. Officials said William Gardner, 63, was driving a tractor trailer when he reportedly failed to merge left. He slammed into the back of the TDOT truck, knocking it across the emergency lane and causing it to strike a rock wall. The tractor trailer then jack-knifed and also hit the wall. The two TDOT workers were flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where Hayworth is in stable condition and Shelton is critical. Gardner was injured, but was not transported to a hospital. Charges against the tractor trailer driver are pending. (WKRN and THP)
Two TDOT workers injured in the accident.
