Two commercial trucks wreck on I-24 near Murfreesboro, 1 injured

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, two commercial trucks crashed this morning on I-24 westbound in Rutherford County, at mile marker 87 near Murfreesboro. One of the commercial drivers was severely injured in the truck accident and Rutherford County Fire Rescue workers had to use the jaws of life to extract him from the vehicle.

The crash occurred at about 10:40 a.m. and caused a major traffic tie-up on westbound I-24. All westbound lanes were closed between exits 84 and 88 so that the THP could clear the wrecked vehicles from the roadway and perform its investigation into the cause of the crash. The THP estimated that the westbound stretch of the Interstate would be closed for more than four hours.

Cause of trucking accident unclear, except that one truck rear-ended the other

The trucking accident involved an 18-wheeler and a JanPak Supply Solutions box truck. Police say that the driver of the box truck rear-ended the semi, but it is not yet clear why. The box truck driver was transported to a nearby hospital after being extracted from the cab of his crushed vehicle. It was not reported whether the other driver was injured.

The most common causes of truck accidents include:

• Truck driver fatigue (particularly when drivers work more hours than allowed by law)
• Mistakes in loading -- either overloading or failure to secure the load
• Poor maintenance leading to brake failure or other mechanical issues
• Drug or alcohol abuse by the driver
• Speeding, aggressive driving or road rage
• Driver distraction