Wreck scene
photo by THP
A South Florida tractor trailer driver has been charged in a multi-vehicle wreck on I-75 northbound on Sunday afternoon that claimed two lives. Three others were in intensive care.
East Ridge Police also said that three people in a car that caught fire suffered serious injuries. The driver of that vehicle died.
Joseph Antoinier, 65, of Boynton Beach, Fl., was charged with two counts of reckless homicide, three counts of reckless aggravated assault, and seven counts of felony reckless endangerment.
Police responded at 5:20 p.m.
to a crash with entrapment near the Tennessee Welcome Center.
Upon arrival, police observed a major collision involving six passenger vehicles and one semi-truck. Police said there was "significant damage across all involved vehicles."
A white Jeep and a white Ford pickup truck were fully engulfed in flames. The drivers of both those vehicles were dead at the scene.
Fire personnel extricated three other occupants from the white Jeep: a woman with facial lacerations, her seven year old daughter, with burns to her leg, and an 18-month-old child with severe burn injuries. All three were transported to Erlanger Hospital.
In all, eight persons were transported to area hospitals.
Police said witnesses reported that the semi-truck had been driving erratically prior to the collision, swerving between lanes and exhibiting reckless behavior.
Police said video footage from the scene confirmed that the semi-truck was traveling at a high rate of speed and failed to brake as traffic slowed, resulting in a chain-reaction crash.
Antoinier was transported to the hospital, then taken into custody.
Joseph Antoinier
photo by