Moody Fire Chief James Robinson says the incident started with a one vehicle wreck on an I-20 East bridge near the Brompton Exit around 3:25 a.m. Sunday.
"The two occupants were not seriously injured. They were out of their vehicle talking to a police officer. Several other vehicles had stopped on the roadway and an 18 wheeler came down the hill very quickly, was not able to stop as it approached the wreck scene and struck the stopped vehicles," said Chief James Robinson. "That caused a number of injuries and one victim was startled and fell of the bridge in the process."
Chief Robinson says the victim fell about 45 feet and had some lower extremity fractures.
"We had to use a rope rescue system to put a rescuer over the edge to assess and treat him and then to evacuate him back up to the road surface to be transported to the hospital," said Robinson.
The St. Clair County Hazmat team was called in to clean up about 150 gallons of diesel fuel which spilled out of damaged 18-wheeler saddle tanks.
He says fire fighter units from Pell City, Leeds, and Springville plus the paramedics assisted the Moody Fire Department in the rescue/clean-up effort.
The early morning accident caused backups for several hours as west bound drivers were forced to take Hwy 78 instead of the interstate. I-20 did not reopen until around 8:30 a.m. and there were intermittant delays after that. The detour put some holiday travelers behind schedule, but the fire chief warns that the accident should serve as a reminder of what's at stake when drivers get in a hurry.
"Be cautious as you're going down hills and around blind curves and be aware that there something may be there you don't expect," said Robinson.
Chief Robinson says a total of four 18 wheelers and five passenger vehicles were involved in the wreck. He says four people were taken to local emergency rooms and treated for minor injuries and the person who fell from the bridge was transported to the Trauma Center at UAB.
