One dead following five-vehicle chain reaction crash in Kingsport

An investigation slowed commuters on Interstate 81 Thursday morning in Kingsport after one driver was killed in a five-vehicle chain reaction crash.

Police reported a prior crash already had traffic at a slow pace northbound just after 7:30 when a pickup truck driven by Gary John Hotchstein III of Mount Hope, West Virginia collided with another vehicle.

A driver in a four-door sedan then tried to avoid the wreck by switching lanes and then crashed into the driver’s side of the pickup. Hotchstein died of his injuries. The review of the crash is continuing.

(IMAGE: Bristol Broadcasting Co News Archive)