By Michael R. Moser / mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
A grinding and horrific crash on I-40 on a Saturday football afternoon claimed the life of an Overton County woman and caused a massive traffic headache for first responders and motorists trying to reach Knoxville for the UT and Vanderbilt football game.
Dead at the scene was Donna Brennan, 63, of Hillham. Injured were Albert Galven, 52, and his wife, Carolyn, of Rocky Mount, VA, and Raymond M. Martin, 56, Florida.
The crash occurred near the 335 mile marker on I-40 around 2:14 p.m. when a chain-reaction crash was triggered by Brennan's Mercedes car leaving the west lane, crossing through the medium and striking a tractor-trailer rig driven by Albert Galven.
The truck, loaded with furniture, exploded into flames that spread to a nearby wooded area.
Galven's truck then collided with a second truck, a 2007 Peterbilt driven by Martin. That truck was loaded with grocery dry goods and did not burn.
One lane of east bound I-40 between Crab Orchard and Westel was shut down for several hours and reopened around 7 p.m. The west lane remained closed for several hours.
THP spokesman Mike Browning stated Monday morning that neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected as being involved in the crash, but that investigators still do not know what caused Brennan to cross through the medium and crash into the first truck.
Cumberland County firefighters were faced with the task of fighting the fires and with extricating the victim's body from the wreckage.
County firefighters also had to establish a landing zone on I-40 for LifeStar 2 to pick up the North Carolina couple for transport to The University of Tennessee Medical Center. Their injuries were reported to be serious but not life-threatening.
Martin was taken to Cumberland Medical Center by Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
His passenger, Gerald Rhoden, 52, of Colorado, was not injured.
On Monday crews were still working to clean up the wreckage scene.
