What started as a routine emergency response on a busy stretch of Interstate 75 in Scott County turned into a deadly chain reaction Saturday afternoon, when a vehicle slammed into a parked fire engine and killed two people from Knoxville, authorities said. Two other occupants from the same vehicle were rushed to a Lexington hospital, where they were reported in stable condition. Three firefighters who had been inside the engine were treated at a nearby hospital and later released.
What Happened At The Scene
The crash unfolded in the southbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 141, where emergency crews had already been dealing with an earlier single-vehicle wreck, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Preliminary statements from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office indicate that fire units were parked at the earlier crash site when another vehicle came through and struck the stationary fire engine. Southbound traffic was diverted at Exit 144 while crews worked the scene and cleared debris.
Victims Identified
Scott County Coroner Mark Sutton identified the two people killed as 61-year-old Darren Paul Nelson and 62-year-old Shauna Colleen Nelson, both of Knoxville, Tennessee, he told WTVQ. Sutton said the bodies were transported to Frankfort for autopsies and that officials had not yet released an official cause of death.
First Responders And Investigation
The Scott County Fire Department reported that three firefighters were inside the engine when it was hit. All three were taken to Georgetown’s Centerpoint Health as a precaution and later released, Wide Open Country reported. Kentucky State Police Post 12 has taken the lead on the investigation, and officials said they plan to release more details as they work through the reconstruction and case file.
Family Fund And Traffic Impacts
A GoFundMe created to help the family with transportation and funeral costs had collected $13,075 toward a $20,000 goal at the time of writing, according to the campaign page. The crash shut down multiple southbound lanes for several hours, backing up I-75 traffic and snarling weekend travel in the area, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
What’s Next
Authorities are asking anyone who witnessed the collision or has relevant information to contact Kentucky State Police Post 12. Troopers and the coroner are continuing to piece together the sequence of events, and state police have not yet issued any findings about what caused the vehicle to leave its lane and crash into the parked fire engine, pending full autopsy results and crash reconstruction work.
