3 injured in fiery crash on I-26 in Asheville

WLOS — It was a nightmare commute to work Monday morning for many Asheville-area drivers caught in backups caused by a four-vehicle wreck on I-26 around 8 a.m. that injured three people.

Both eastbound lanes were closed for about an hour, and one westbound lane was closed.

All lanes of I-26 have since reopened.

The wreck happened in a problematic area of the highway, between Exits 33 and 37. Three vehicles and a tractor trailer were involved.

Traffic was backed up for miles, even after the road reopened.

Authorities say a Volkswagen Jetta struck a Chevy Silverado. The Silverado driver lost control and hit a tractor trailer. The Jetta continued on and struck another car.

The Silverado traveled off the road, overturned, and caught fire.

The Jetta driver traveled by personal vehicle to hospital. Fire fighters with Skyland Fire Department say an ambulance took the truck driver to Mission Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

One person in another car was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Thirty-five-year-old year Brett Carpenter, the Jetta driver, is charged with failure to reduce speed.

While it took emergency workers roughly an hour to clear the scene, some News 13 employees commuting to work say they were stuck in traffic for around two hours.

The call for the crash came in at 7:41 a.m. Monday.

The Skyland Fire Department, Asheville Fire Department, the Highway Patrol and Buncombe EMS all responded.