Four airlifted following two-vehicle wreck on U.S. 25E near Corbin bypass

Four people were airlifted and a total of seven went to the hospital following a two-vehicle collision Friday night at the intersection of U.S. 25E and the Corbin bypass.

Corbin firefighters were called to the scene at 6:18 p.m.

Corbin Police Lt. James Miller said witnesses reported 51-year-old Jack Harris was travelling south on U.S. 25E in a S-10 pickup when he crossed into the path of the Chrysler minivan driven by 20-year-old Lashaina Claxton of Rockholds as she twas attempting to turn left onto the bypass.

Corbin Firefighter James Smith said firefighters used the Jaws-of-Life to cut the driver’s side door off of the pickup truck and then had to lift the dash to extricate the Harris.

“We had it done within 10 minutes,” Smith said.

West Knox firefighters were paged out to establish a landing zone for the four helicopters.

Five passengers were in the van with Claxton.

Miller said the passengers included 20-year-old Jeremy Crabtree of Rockholds and four juveniles ages 15, 11 10, and 9.

Knox and Whitley EMS and Ambulance Inc. of Laurel County provided ambulances to transport the patients to the landing zone and the other three patients to the hospital.

The names of the patients were not immediately available.

Traffic on south U.S. 25E was closed for more than an hour while northbound traffic was reduced to one lane.

Bypass traffic was diverted through a nearby business parking lot as emergency personnel worked to clear the scene.

Miller said neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the crash.