Three remain hospitalized following crash on I-75 near Corbin Sunday

Corbin Police say three people remain in critical condition following a four-vehicle collision on Interstate 75 in Corbin Sunday.

Corbin Police Major Rob Jones, the department’s public affairs officer, stated that the wreck occurred about 3 p.m. when a Honda Civic driven by Ashley Garland, 25, of Simpsonville, S.C. ran off the roadway, into the median, through the cable barrier and into southbound traffic, running head-on into the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV driven by Jerold L. Griswold, 61, of Dayton, Tenn. As a result of the collision, Griswold’s SUV was knocked into the Ford Explorer SUV driven by Brian Ruswinkle 22, of Roswell, Ga., which was pushed into the guardrail on the right shoulder.

As the vehicles came to rest blocking both lanes of southbound traffic, David N. Niederman, 44, of Charlotte, N.C., who was travelling south, came upon the wreck.

Niederman reportedly told police that he tried to stop, but when it became apparent he would be unable to do so, he swerved off through the cable barrier to avoid another collision.

Corbin firefighters used the Jaws-of-Life to extricate three people. Five people, including Garland, a 3-year-old girl from Garland’s vehicle, Griswold, 58-year-old Sally Griswold, of Dayton, Tenn., and 66-year-old Suzanne E. Stevens of Dayton, Tenn. were airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Jones stated that 11 people from the four vehicles were treated for various injuries.

Corbin Police Col. David Maiden, who is investigating the wreck, said Garland told police that she was travelling north when she began feeling sleepy. The next thing she remembered was the vehicle running over the rumble strips on the shoulder.

“She jerked the steering wheel, over correcting and shot into the median and into the south bound traffic,” Maiden said.

Maiden added that witnesses reported Garland’s vehicle going airborne as it crossed the median.

“It may have come down on top of the cable barrier,” Maiden said when asked why the barrier failed to keep the vehicle from crossing into traffic.

The interstate in both directions was shut down for one hour, 20 minutes as emergency personnel worked to clear the scene.