CAMPBELL COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Tennessee Highway Patrol said two people died in a crash that had I-75 South shut down for much of Saturday in Campbell County near the state line.
According to THP’s preliminary report, a GMC pickup truck was traveling southbound near mile marker 161 Saturday morning when it hit the back of a tractor-trailer that was parked on the right shoulder.
The driver, 21-year-old Jesus Eduardo Silva, and passenger, 20-year-old Denise Andrade, both of Georgia, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash, THP said. There was not a driver in the tractor-trailer at the time of the crash.
The crash, which was first reported by TDOT’s SmartWay traffic map on Saturday at 8:42 a.m., had the southbound lanes shut down for several hours, reopening shortly after 3 p.m.
Traffic from I-75 South backed up across the state line into Whitley County and caused major delays on Highway 25W into Jellico.