NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Friday, May 13, 2016, 11:30 p.m. — The westbound lanes of the Bluegrass Parkway were reopened Friday night at about 11 p.m. following a fatal crash Friday afternoon involving a semi tractor-trailer hauling steel beams and a white SUV.
Nelson County EMS, firefighters and police were dispatched at about 4 p.m. Friday for an accident involving an overturned and burning tractor-trailer rig at the bottom of the New Haven Road westbound entrance ramp to the BG Parkway.
A Kentucky State Police trooper was already on the scene when Nelson County Deputy Sheriff Richard Jones stopped to investigate a column of smoke he spotted near the New Haven Road BG overpass.
The cab of the semi was already engulfed in flames by the time firefighters with the Nelson County Fire Department arrived. Firefighters had control of the fire in a short time, and worked to protect the rig’s diesel fuel tanks.
One victim was transported by EMS from the scene directly to University Hospital in Louisville.
The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene by the Nelson County Coroner. The names of the victims have not yet been released by police.
The crash left deep gouges in the surface of the BG’s westbound lanes. The state transportation cabinet was requested to respond to examine the need for repairs prior to re-opening the roadway.
The crash is being investigated by the Kentucky State Police.
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