Three people died in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on I-24 Monday afternoon in Livingston County near the beginning of the construction zone that is in place for work on the Tennessee River bridge.
According to Kentucky State Police Post One Public Information Officer Sara Burgess the preliminary investigation revealed 24-year-old Mansur Kholikov of Brooklyn, New York, was driving a tractor trailer westbound on I-24. Traffic was slowed near the 32 mile marker westbound, approaching the construction zone at the Tennessee River Bridge. Trooper Burgess says for reasons still under investigation, the truck operated by Kholikov did not slow with the rest of traffic, colliding with multiple other vehicles and causing secondary collisions involving a total of five other vehicles.
Burgess says one involved vehicle was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived at the crash site. The investigators determined that there were three occupants of that vehicle 68-year-old Saundra Dodd of Evansville, IN, along with two children. All three occupants were pronounced deceased at the scene. Two occupants of other vehicles involved were flown to out of state hospitals by Air Evac. Additional involved occupants were transported to local hospitals. Kholikov, the driver of the tractor trailer, did not report any injuries.
This collision remains under investigation by KSP Detective Nate Moore with the Post 1 Collision Reconstruction Team. KSP Post 1 was assisted on scene by multiple other law enforcement agencies, fire/rescue departments, EMS personnel, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Both westbound lanes of I-24 remained closed until nearly 9:00 Monday night. Traffic was detoured off I-24 around the crash site for several hours. The closure also impacted traffic in the eastbound lanes of I-24 through the afternoon.
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