Three airlifted from chain-reaction crash on I-75 Monday

An initial wreck on Interstate 75 in Whitley County left a tractor-trailer truck driver shaken but uninjured when his truck ran off the road into the median and overturned, but a chain-reaction wreck resulted in two people being airlifted from the scene Monday morning.

The initial incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. near the 24-mile marker when driver David Nicholson of Kodiak, Tenn. ran off the road in the tractor trailer owned by Griffin Greenhouse Supplies out of Tewksbury, Mass.

Kentucky State Police Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Chris McQueen said Nicholson reported that he was headed north on the rain soaked road when a Toyota car suddenly cut in front of him.

Nicholson attempted to stop, but the trailer he was hauling jackknifed, sending the rig into the median where it overturned and came to rest against the cable barrier separating north and southbound traffic.

“It could have been a lot worse,” McQueen said of the wreck.

“The driver stated that his seatbelt saved him from any type of injuries,” he said.

Oak Grove and Woodbine firefighters were called to the scene.

In addition to providing traffic control, McQueen said firefighters remained on scene because the fuel caps to the truck’s diesel tanks had come off and because the truck contained a load of chemical fertilizer.

Traffic on northbound I-75 backed up for several miles as one lane was closed while emergency crews worked to clear the scene.

McQueen said the second wreck occurred near the 21-mile marker when 44-year-old Steven Cureton of Williamsburg, who was travelling north in the passing lane, quickly swerved into the slow lane, rear-ending a Nissan Van driven by 22-year-old Kayla Beason, and shoving it into a tractor-trailer truck.

Two passengers in the van, 24-year-old Michael Beason, Jr. and a minor child were airlifted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Kayla Beason was taken by ambulance to Baptist Health Corbin.

McQueen said I-75 at that point was reduced to one lane for about five hours and was shut down completely for a period of time.