This information is preliminary and subject to change.
On Sunday, May 11, 2025, about 5:20 p.m. eastern daylight time, a 2017 Freightliner truck-tractor in combination with a 2024 Hyundai Translead semitrailer (combination vehicle), operated by Valparaiso Trucking Corporation, was traveling north in the right travel lane on Interstate 75 (I-75) near the interchange with Interstate 24 (I-24) in the city of East Ridge, Hamilton County, Tennessee.
As the combination vehicle approached a traffic queue that had formed about 0.4 miles south of the interchange due to congestion from traffic merging onto I-24, the driver did not slow the vehicle to match the slowing traffic ahead. The combination vehicle collided with the rear of a 2014 Jeep Wrangler sport utility vehicle and a 2022 Ford pickup truck at the end of the queue. The combination vehicle continued north into the queue, causing four additional vehicles to become involved in the crash before coming to a stop on the entrance ramp to a rest area to the right of the roadway. At the time of the crash, the weather was cloudy and the roadway was dry. At this location, I-75 is a divided, ten-lane roadway composed of five northbound and five southbound traffic lanes. This area of I-75 was part of a long-term work zone; however, there was no construction activity at the time of the crash. The speed limit along this section of I-75 was ordinarily 55 mph, but due to the work zone it had been lowered to 45 mph.
As a result of the crash, both occupants in the sport utility vehicle and the driver of the pickup truck were fatally injured. Four occupants in the additional crash-involved vehicles sustained serious injuries. The driver of the combination vehicle sustained minor injuries.
Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- East Ridge Police Department
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.
