A woman and two children were taken to Baptist Health Corbin when their minivan was t-boned by a dump truck coming off of I-75 at exit 25 Thursday afternoon.
Corbin Police Colonel David Maiden said the driver of the dump truck, 55-year-old Burt Newport of Oneida, Tenn., told him that he was travelling about 45 mph when the vehicles collided. The truck, owned by BMK Corporation, was loaded with approximately 7,500 pounds of gravel at the time and was en route from Jellico, Tenn. to the Corbin Industrial Park.
“He hit the brakes, but when he hit the clutch to gear down, it went all the way to the floor without engaging,” Maiden said. “You can’t stop that kind of truck with just the brakes.”
The Chrysler Town and Country minivan driven by 36-year-old Tracie Bates of Lily was travelling north on U.S. 25W when the collision occurred.
Bates and two children, ages 10 and 8, were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Maiden said traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction as Corbin firefighters and Whitley County EMS personnel worked to clear the scene.
