Four-vehicle wreck on Falls Hwy. sends five to hospital

Five people were taken to Baptist Health Corbin following a wreck involving four vehicles on Cumberland Falls Hwy. Tuesday morning.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy John Hill said the wreck occurred about 11 a.m. just south of the intersection with Fifth Street Road.

Hill said according to witness statements, marks on the highway and the vehicles’ positions, James Blankenship was travelling south in a dump truck towing a trailer loaded with a bulldozer.

Blankenship pulled across the northbound lane to turn off the highway when the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Darlene Wagers approached travelling south.

Wagers stopped as Blankenship worked to get the trailer off the road.

However, Robert Nichols, who was driving a Chevrolet Impala failed to stop, rear-ending the pickup.

“The Toyota spun around and hit the trailer,” Hill said. “The Impala the hit the Mustang that was travelling south.

Nichols and Wagers, along with three passengers in the pickup truck, identified as Melissa Wagers, Malachi Couch and David Horsley were all taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Hill said the driver of the Mustang, identified as John Smith, was not injured.

Residents living near the scene said they heard the thump from the collision.

“We thought it was the garbage man dumping the dumpster,” the woman said adding that stretch of highway has been the site of multiple serious wrecks.

Hill said the roadway was blocked for approximately one hour as emergency personnel worked to clear the scene.

Hill was assisted at the scene by Sheriff Colan Harrell and deputies Todd Shelley and Jeff Henderson.

Oak Grove and Woodbine firefighters, along with Whitley County EMS, also responded to the scene.