CALERA, AL (WBRC) -
Troopers have released additional details about a fatal accident that shut down a stretch of I-65 near mile marker 229 in Calera for several hours Thursday afternoon.
Authorities say James Barnett, 26, of Bessemer, died when the passenger van he was riding in crashed with an 18-wheeler and a Freightliner truck. Injured in the van was the driver, Donald Hughes, 44, of Shelby, April Barnett, 20, of Bessemer, and William Garrison, 40, of Alabaster.
The driver of the Freightliner, Jerry Brunson, 52, of Byhalia, MS, was also hurt. The driver of the 18-wheeler, Dexter Johnson, 44, of Auburn, was not hurt.
The crash happened about 12:45 p.m. and backed traffic up into Chilton County at one point. A witness on the scene said that a van merging onto the highway collided with an 18-wheeler. FOX6 is still working to confirm what happened with state troopers.
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Source: WBRC video
Source: WBRC video
Source: Viewer/WSFA
Traffic backed up on I-65. Source: Vanessa Araiza
