Three children hurt in wreck on I-75 near Williamsburg

Three juveniles suffered what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries during a single vehicle crash Monday morning on I-75 near Williamsburg.

Williamsburg Police Lt. Jason Caddell said that the 17-year-old female driver was heading north on I-75 in a 2004 Silver Cadillac CTS when she lost control of the vehicle shortly before 8 a.m.

"She said that something in her car started shaking or shimmying and she was afraid she was going to run off the road to the left so she jerked it and over corrected," Caddell said.

The driver went from the fast lane through the slow lane and struck the rock wall near Exit 11. The force caused the vehicle to spin around and strike the rock wall a second time before it came to rest in the slow lane, Caddell said.

Also in the vehicle were the driver’s 12-year-old sister and five-year-old brother, whom she was taking to school, Caddell said.
Whitley County EMS transported all three to Jellico Community Hospital for treatment.

"I believe they are all OK. They didn’t appear to have a concussion or anything," Caddell said. "They were sent to Jellico Hospital to be checked out as a precaution. The parents weren’t there, and it is pretty much standard procedure to send them to be checked out."

No other vehicles were involved, and no one had to be extricated.

All three were wearing their seatbelts, but there was no air bag deployment.

About eight Williamsburg firefighters assisted with traffic control and debris clean-up at the scene.

Caddell said that the vehicle had been rebuilt but because it was totaled, he can’t determine if something actually happened to the vehicle or if the driver was simply inexperienced and lost control.

"The road conditions being wet didn’t help the situation," he added.