The crash that killed her wasn’t the first one that night. It was the second, the one no one saw coming, and she was standing outside her car when it happened. Early Sunday morning, just after 2 a.m., a 21-year-old Tuscaloosa woman was involved in a single-vehicle collision on the southbound side of Interstate 359.
The initial crash wasn’t severe. Her car came to a stop, she stepped out, and so did the driver of the vehicle she’d made contact with. Both of them were on the roadway, likely trying to assess the damage, exchange information, or simply figure out their next steps.What they didn’t know was that danger was still barreling toward them.
In the dim pre-dawn darkness, with limited visibility and vehicles still traveling at interstate speeds, five additional cars slammed into the scene in a chain-reaction crash that unfolded in seconds. The young woman was struck and killed instantly, her life taken not by the first accident, but by the chaos that followed. The other driver she’d been standing beside was also hit and suffered injuries, though officials say he is expected to survive.
By the time the collisions stopped, seven vehicles in total were involved, creating a sprawling, tangled wreck that stretched across multiple lanes. First responders from Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue, ALEA troopers, and emergency medical teams rushed to the interstate, working through debris, damaged cars, and terrified drivers to assess injuries and restore order.Five additional people were transported to DCH Regional Medical Center with injuries that authorities describe as non-life-threatening.
Investigators are reviewing factors such as speed, lighting, and driver awareness to determine what triggered the chain of impacts, but early indications suggest that the stationary vehicles in the roadway were struck before oncoming drivers could react.A night that began with a minor accident ended in tragedy, leaving a family grieving a young woman whose future was taken in an instant.
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