The wife and son of a Chattanooga orthopaedic surgeon and three other people were killed in a grinding 5-vehicle crash south of Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday afternoon.
Alabama State Troopers said Dolores Chandra, 56, of Hixson, died along with her son, Sharath Chandra, 27, of Brentwood, Tn.
Dr. C. Chandra, who has an office at Memorial Medical Center, was severely injured. He was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center, where he is in the trauma intensive care unit. Dr. Chandra, 62, suffered a crushed leg, forearm and pelvis.
The accident happened on a two-lane section of Highway 331 near the Crenshaw County line about 25 miles south of Montgomery.
State troopers said Mrs. Chandra was the driver of a white GMC Yukon that was traveling at full speed when she crossed the center line and ran head-on into a red Nissan Xterra.
Trooper Donald Frazier said, "For some reason, she just drifted into the southbound lane just in time to hit the other vehicle head-on."
Killed in the Nissan Xterra were Amanda Layne Foxwell, 25, of Trussville, Ala.; Jessica Olson, 17, of Alpharetta, Ga., and Rebecca Jean Stimson, 17, of Duluth, Ga. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Stimson of Chattanooga are the stepgrandparents of Amanda Foxwell and the grandparents of Rebecca Stimson.
The three girls were on their way to Destin, Fla., for spring break.
Rebecca Stimson and her younger sister, Rachel Stimson, had been in Chattanooga the previous weekend for the 80th birthday celebration for Mrs. Tom Stimson. Mrs. Stimson said Rachel would also have been in the car, but she had been invited to go with a friend to Hilton Head, S.C.
Two other cars, a Jeep Liberty and Pontiac Bonneville, drove up on the wreck and were unable to stop. They hit the Xterra, knocking off a tire that struck a vehicle in the northbound lane.
Three other people were injured, including Dr. Chandra.
The cars were so badly mangled that emergency crews had to work for hours to remove the bodies.
Members of the Snowdoun, Highland Home and Montgomery County fire departments as well as the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department responded to the wreck.
The wreck was near the town of Highland Home.
It happened about 2 p.m.