Fatal crash leaves two dead

By Eddie West

Staff Writer

Two people were killed in a horrific tractor-trailer accident on Interstate 40, Thursday morning.

The wreck, involving two tractor-trailer trucks, occurred in the West bound lanes near milemarker 254 around 8:45 a.m.

The victims were traveling in a 2010 Freightline which caught fire after colliding with the rear end of a second tractor-trailer truck.

Victims of the accident were identified as Omar Sosa De La Cruz, 30, Bradenton, Florida, and Erisbel Cruz Cid, 37, Hialeah, Florida, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) which investigated the accident.

Cruz was the driver of the tractor-trailer truck which caught fire. Cid was a passenger in the vehicle.

The driver of the second tractor-trailer truck, a 2021 Peterbilt, was identified as Gene Lundgren, 68, Shenandoah, Iowa. Lundgren was not injured in the accident.

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