Marble – Six people were injured, three seriously, when a utility pole truck collided with a passenger car near the Cherokee County solid waste disposal site on Monday afternoon.
Names of the crash victims were not immediately available in time for this week’s edition.
The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. Monday.
A utility pole truck was headed east on U.S. 19 while a passenger car was making a turn from westbound U.S. 19 at the entrance to the landfill and into the path of the oncoming truck.
The truck had just crested the hill and was headed downhill and unable to stop due to its speed and mass. It collided with the passenger car at the landfill entrance on the highway.
The truck spun around and rolled over before coming to rest at the bottom of a shallow embankment. The passenger car rolled over and came to rest on its side in the passing lane of eastbound U.S. 19.
Victims in the crash required extrication by Valleytown Fire and Rescue. Occupants of the car were taken to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Murphy. Occupants of the truck were airlifted to an unidentified hospital.
The eastbound lanes were blocked for several hours while the wreckage was removed. Eastbound traffic was detoured to IOI Road to Airport Road.
A highway patrol investigation is in progress.