Truck on wrong side of road hits car, kills 3

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — Authorities say three people were killed after a truck driving the wrong way on Interstate 640 in Knoxville struck their car early Saturday morning.

The victims were going westbound near the Interstate 75 interchange around 3:30 a.m. and had struck a jeep that was also going westbound, according to Knoxville police.

The victims’ car, however, kept driving and was then hit by the truck, which was traveling east in the westbound lanes, said Knoxville Police Department Lt. Bob Wooldridge.

The car’s driver, Nicholas Ryan McMillan, 20, and both passengers, Jessica Nicole Jones, 18, and Joshua W. McMillan, 17, died at the scene, police said. All are believed to be from Knoxville.

Police didn’t say whether Nicholas McMillian and Joshua McMillan were related.

The driver of the truck that hit the car was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Police didn’t release his name Saturday, and his condition was unavailable.

Police are still investigating the accident but say the truck going the wrong way was a major contributing factor.

Authorities say blood tests will be conducted on both drivers to determine if alcohol or drug use was behind the crash.

All but one of the westbound lanes of I-640 were closed until about 8:30 a.m. while authorities cleaned up the wreck and investigated the scene.

——

Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com