MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. — Emergency crews airlifted two juveniles from Alabama to UT Medical Center with serious injuries after their car lost control and crashed into a tree on Northbound Interstate 75 in Monroe County Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a 17-year-old was driving on I-75 North at mile marker 64 near Sweetwater around 2 p.m. Troopers said the teen was looking at a text on her phone and at some point jerked the steering wheel, sending the car into a skid before it went into the median.
The car then hit a tree near the passenger side front tire -- ejecting both the driver and the 15-year-old passenger through the rear window, according to the crash report.
THP said neither of the teens were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. A Lifestar helicopter airlifted the teens to UT Medical Center for treatment.
THP did not list the severity of their injuries.
I-75 Northbound had to be shut down for roughly an hour so emergency crews could respond.