LeClaire, IOWA -
A massive crash and truck fire closed down Interstate 80 in the Quad Cities.
9-1-1 calls started coming in around 6:15 pm Monday night from a stretch of Interstate 80 between LeClaire and Bettendorf about three miles west of the Mississippi River close to Exit 306. Two trucks, a minivan, and smaller passenger car all collided while traveling eastbound, followed by a huge fire.
Fire crews from LeClaire, Pleasant Valley, Princeton and Riverdale responded to the fire. And put out the flames coming from a large semi filled with frozen food that was stuck in the median. The minivan landed in a ditch on the side of the rode.
Five people were involved in the crash, two people died at the scene, one woman was life-flighted and two walked away. No children were involved.
Iowa state troopers are leading the investigation and are assisting LeClaire Police and the Scott County Sheriff. They are still determining exactly what happened as well as notifying families about the victims. They could not say if the vehicles or the people involved were from the Quad Cities.
During the clean up, State Trooper Erik Fitzer said it would take some time for Hazmat crews to clear I-80 to open it back up to traffic. "It's a fairly large scene and vehicles are severly damaged. I don't know how long it'll be before we have the interstate fully functioning, operating normally."
Just before 10 pm, both the eastbound and westbound lanes were open to traffic. Troopers said it would take some time to clear the charred and burned semi in the median. Crews left it Monday night and will wait until Tuesday when there is daylight. They could not say what time they would close down at least one lane of traffic to remove it.
9-1-1 calls started coming in around 6:15 pm Monday night from a stretch of Interstate 80 between LeClaire and Bettendorf about three miles west of the Mississippi River close to Exit 306. Two trucks, a minivan, and smaller passenger car all collided while traveling eastbound, followed by a huge fire.
Fire crews from LeClaire, Pleasant Valley, Princeton and Riverdale responded to the fire. And put out the flames coming from a large semi filled with frozen food that was stuck in the median. The minivan landed in a ditch on the side of the rode.
Five people were involved in the crash, two people died at the scene, one woman was life-flighted and two walked away. No children were involved.
Iowa state troopers are leading the investigation and are assisting LeClaire Police and the Scott County Sheriff. They are still determining exactly what happened as well as notifying families about the victims. They could not say if the vehicles or the people involved were from the Quad Cities.
During the clean up, State Trooper Erik Fitzer said it would take some time for Hazmat crews to clear I-80 to open it back up to traffic. "It's a fairly large scene and vehicles are severly damaged. I don't know how long it'll be before we have the interstate fully functioning, operating normally."
Just before 10 pm, both the eastbound and westbound lanes were open to traffic. Troopers said it would take some time to clear the charred and burned semi in the median. Crews left it Monday night and will wait until Tuesday when there is daylight. They could not say what time they would close down at least one lane of traffic to remove it.
