UPDATE, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29, 5:30 p.m.: A mother and her 3-year-old son were killed, and a 1-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition, after a three-vehicle wreck on Interstate 40 West in Knoxville early Wednesday morning.
Knoxville Police arrested the driver of the Ford F-150 involved in the wreck on charges of second offense DUI and simple possession of marijuana. KPD said Richard Lee Romano, 30, of Lawrence City, Tennessee, is being held in the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on a $15,500 bond.
The wreck began after the driver of a Volkswagon Cabrio clipped the front of a semi-truck and lost control after making a sudden lane change, according to KPD. The Cabrio came to a rest in the outside lane of I-40 where Romano's pick-up truck then crashed into it on the passenger side.
The driver of the Cabrio was Sabrina Mae Brown, 32, of Bean Station. Brown and her 3-year-old son, Adrian Alexander Johnson, died in the wreck. Brown's daughter, Alexis Amelia Johnson, was taken to UT Medical Center with potentially life-threatening injuries. Officials said she is in critical, but stable condition.
The driver of a semi-truck was not injured and was released.
A passenger in Romano's truck was also treated for minor injuries and released.
ORIGINAL STORY: Multiple people were hurt in a three-vehicle wreck on I-40 West in Knoxville early Wednesday morning.
Knoxville police have not reported any fatalities in this wreck, though the status and identities of the victims remains unknown. According to KPD, officers responded around 3 a.m. to a wreck involving a semi-truck on westbound I-40 between the Pellissippi Parkway ramp and the Lovell Road exit.
When they arrived, officers said a semi-truck, a white Ford F-150 pick-up truck, and a Volkswagen Cabrio were involved in the wreck.
According to KPD, the driver of the Cabrio changed lanes and their car clipped the front of the semi-truck, causing the driver to lose control. The Carbio came to a stop on the outside lane of I-40 when it was hit on the passenger side by the pick-up truck.
TDOT crews reopened all lanes of I-40W after hours of clean-up around 11 a.m. KPD said it will release more details as the investigation continues.