A tragic accident on I-40 East in Knoxville, Tennessee, left two people dead and three others injured in a multi-vehicle crash involving an ambulance. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, prompting a closure of the interstate as law enforcement responded to the scene.
According to the Knoxville Police Department, the crash took place just west of Midway Road around 5:30 a.m. The investigation revealed that two eastbound vehicles were involved in a rear-end collision, resulting in one vehicle coming to a stop in a travel lane while the other overturned and rolled across all three lanes before landing in the median.
As the situation unfolded, a passerby stopped to assist the vehicle that was still on the highway, leading to a third vehicle becoming involved in the crash. Tragically, both the Good Samaritan, identified as 45-year-old Juan Carlos Herrera Gomez of Knoxville, and the driver of the stalled vehicle, 76-year-old Lee Boone from Virginia, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the overturned vehicle, a woman who has not been publicly named, was ejected from the car during the collision and sustained severe injuries. She was transported to UT Medical Center for treatment and has since been charged with driving under the influence, as authorities suspect she may have been impaired at the time of the crash.
Fortunately, there were no patients inside the ambulance at the time of the accident. The two crew members on board sustained minor injuries and are cooperating with the investigation. Priority Ambulance, the company operating the ambulance involved in the crash, expressed their condolences to the families affected by the tragedy and confirmed their cooperation with authorities in determining the circumstances of the incident.
The reopening of I-40 East marked the conclusion of a harrowing and devastating event that claimed the lives of two individuals and left others injured. The community mourns the loss of Juan Carlos Herrera Gomez and Lee Boone, while the injured parties continue to recover from the physical and emotional toll of the crash. As the investigation continues, authorities work to piece together the sequence of events that led to this heartbreaking outcome.