Authorities say a tire on a church bus blew out and the bus hit a tractor-trailer and sport utility vehicle in northeastern Tennessee, killing eight people [NO AUDIO AT BEGINNING].
Fire and police responded about 2:00 p.m. Wednesday to a crash on Interstate 40 in Jefferson County between mile marker 422 and 424 near the Interstate 81 split, and northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee.
BREAKING: At least 6 killed in bus crash on I-40 in Tennessee, highway patrol tells NBC News. Photo: @wbir pic.twitter.com/ZyjTpVoaQr
— NBC Nightly News (@nbcnightlynews) October 2, 2013
Early during rescue operations, lanes of I-40 were shut down in both directions. The bus overturned, and the semi-trailer caught on fire. The bus did not burn.
Fire departments and ambulances from Cocke and Jefferson counties and Dandridge responded to the scene. Medical helicopters from Johnson City and the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville were involved in transportation of victims.
At least eight people are reported killed and 14 people injured.
Eight people were killed in Northeastern Tennessee on Wednesday when a bus blew a tire and hit an SUV and a truck. Fourteen people were injured.
AUTHORITIES: Tractor-trailer in I-40 crash caught fire – multiple fatalities/injures. Happened in Jefferson County. pic.twitter.com/fGQbaYiGyv
— WBIR Channel 10 (@wbir) October 2, 2013
