WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Interstate 40 was gridlocked in Wilson County overnight while first responders handled a series of crashes, one of which led to a tractor-trailer fire.

Construction in the eastbound lanes near mile marker 226 already had I-40 reduced to two lanes, but then a three-vehicle crash occurred near that area around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14, according to the Mt. Juliet Police Department.

A second crash took place by mile marker 225 involving a tractor-trailer hauling clothing material, which caught on fire, officials said.

“We could see the flames from the truck. There were ashes flying over into our yard, and my car was covered this morning with ashes," Beth Swafford, a Mt. Juliet resident, told News 2 on Wednesday, Oct. 15. 

Swafford said she stood at her front door with her family, watching as the tractor-trailer went up in flames.

According to authorities, the tractor-trailer had rear-ended a dump truck on the interstate. Crews had to shuttle water to the scene -- including water from Swafford's neighborhood -- in order to extinguish the blaze, but first responders from multiple jurisdictions were reportedly delayed by vehicles blocking the shoulders and emergency lanes.

A third crash involving three vehicles with one rollover happened at mile marker 224, police said. Two people were reportedly pulled from those cars.

Amid all of these crashes, multiple sections of I-40 East were closed between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, prompting standstill traffic. The MJPD even announced shortly before 1 a.m. that the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Metro Nashville Police Department were diverting eastbound traffic off the interstate at the Old Hickory Boulevard exit by mile marker 221.

“Just nobody moving, lots of blue lights and red lights everywhere,” Swafford recalled. 

The MJPD sent multiple alerts over the course of the night, urging drivers to take alternate routes and to stop preventing crews from responding to the crashes by stopping in the emergency lanes and shoulders.

“That was a problem, that really delayed response to get up to the tractor-trailer fire and put that out... There was one point last night during the response we had to send multiple officers just to move traffic out of the way so more responders could get on the scene,” MJPD Deputy Chief Tyler Chandler described. 

Chandler said it was a very busy night for first responders as they worked the three separate crashes on the interstate. He shared a reminder with the community about what to do during emergency situations on the interstate.

“Anytime there is any type of gridlock, please never get in the emergency lane or the shoulder because that is exactly where emergency responders and wreckers and ambulances and fire trucks and police vehicles will be traveling to get to the scene to hopefully clear that scene up as quick as possible so traffic can get moving again,” Chandler explained.

Throughout the night, Chandler said officers also brought gas to stalled vehicles and responded to one medical emergency while firefighters were battling the blaze involving the tractor-trailer.

"My daughter said, 'What if it's someone we know?' And we just grabbed hands and we just started praying... started crying," Swafford recalled. "It was emotional to see just all of that, and we just immediately grabbed hands and started praying for everyone that was involved, for our first responders."

Authorities said injuries were reported from at least two of the crashes. However, there is no word on the number or the nature of those injuries.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/witness-describes-gridlock-on-i-40-in-wilson-county-after-crashes-tractor-trailer-fire/