Published: May 13, 2008 10:14 am      

London man killed in I-75 crash

Times-Tribune Staff Report

A London man was killed in a crash early Monday morning on Interstate 75 when his tractor-trailer wrecked at the scene of a previous accident.

Tommy Kelley, 48, of London died in the wreck near the 68 mile marker on I-75 north of Mount Vernon. He was driving a Somerset Food Service tractor-trailer.

According to a release from the Kentucky State Police, a Chevrolet passenger car headed southbound on I-75 struck a Chevrolet van. The passenger car came to a controlled stop on the southbound shoulder while the van crossed the median and came to an uncontrolled stop in the right northbound lane. No one was injured in either of these vehicles.

As the northbound traffic was avoiding the Chevrolet van, a second crash occurred between Kelley’s tractor-trailer and a Ford pick-up truck. The tractor-trailer struck the pick-up in the rear, overturned and slid into a concrete bridge pillar. Kelley was fatally injured and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Rockcastle County Coroner’s Office. A passenger in the tractor-trailer and the driver of the Ford pick-up were transported to a local hospital for treatment of unknown injuries.

KSP Traffic Crash Reconstructionist Trooper Greg Hill and KSP Traffic Crash Reconstructionist Detective Mike Bowling are continuing the investigation. They were assisted by Trooper Fred Pennington, the Rockcastle County Coroner’s Office, Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office, Rockcastle County EMS, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement and the Kentucky State Highway Department.