The Knoxville News-Sentinel
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Nine people traveling early Thursday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were treated for injuries after the minivan they were riding in crashed on The Spur.
Multiple ambulances from Gatlinburg and Sevierville converged on the scene of the 6:27 a.m. single-vehicle wreck in the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 441 just minutes before park rangers came on duty at 6:30 a.m., said Bob Miller, spokesman for the park.
The vehicle, a 1992 Plymouth Voyager, crashed into the rocky slope alongside the road, he said.
“It basically plowed into the mountainside,” he said.
Those riding in the van were foreign nationals, including some from Ukraine, who are working in the area’s resorts. The vehicle was driven by 20-year-old Sergii Vinnichuk of Gatlinburg. He was treated and released from LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, said a hospital spokeswoman.
A LifeStar helicopter flew two victims to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, while the others were transported by ambulances to UT or LeConte, Miller said.
The names of the victims were not released and conditions were not immediately available. Miller said fire departments and rescue agencies from Gatlinburg and Sevierville were involved in helping the injured.
Copyright 2010 Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.