BUFFALO VALLEY, Tenn. (WSMV) – Two fatal crashes forced the Tennessee Department of Transportation to close the highway in Smith County Tuesday evening.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to two separate accidents and upon arrival found that each incident resulted in multiple fatalities.

THP reported that the first crash occurred on I-40 West near mile marker 263 just after 7:30 p.m. The investigation revealed that a 23-year-old in a Honda Civic with three passengers was traveling west on I-40 when the driver struck a Kenworth semi-truck and lost control. The Civic left the road, went over the bridge and landed upside down in the Caney Fork River.

The driver and a passenger were injured in the crash, but the other two passengers were killed. They were 34 and 25 years old, but their names were not released. A case is pending against the driver. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

About an hour later, as the cars were stopped for the first crash, 32-year-old James Hillard was driving a Ford van when he rear-ended a stationary Chevrolet Equinox, killing 69-year-old Glenda Tidwell and 42-year-old Glenda Tidwell Wendy Tidwell.

Hillard’s van then crashed into an international semi-truck from behind and caught fire. Hillard, a North Carolina native, was injured in both collisions. The driver of the semi-truck was not injured.

Charges are pending against Hillard.

TDOT closed all westbound lanes of I-40 until approximately 3:15 a.m. due to these deadly incidents

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