Residents of Georgia and Nebraska were injured early Thursday morning in an Interstate 35 accident in Harrison county involved two tractor trailers.
A Freightliner driven by a Minneapolis, Minnesota man, 45-year-old Abdurazaq Jama, had already jack-knifed in a crash causing the semi and towed unit to block a majority of the southbound Interstate.
A Peterbilt semi-truck driven by 52-year-old Vernon Bates of Marietta, Georgia was southbound when according to the highway patrol, it struck the passenger side of the towed unit. Bates truck came to a stop in the driving lane with the other big rig coming to rest off the west side of I-35. The crash happened at 1 o’clock Thursday morning seven miles south of Bethany.
Vernon Bates received serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Liberty Hospital. The Minnesota truck driver wasn’t hurt. His passenger from Lexington, Nebraska, 29-year-old Abdinasir Ali, received minor injuries but was not transported.
All occupants were using safety devices. The Georgia tractor-trailer was demolished with extensive damage was noted to the other.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene of the crash.
