The driver of an 18-wheeler was seriously injured after his rig flipped over near downtown Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon.

City of Chattanooga Firefighters with Quint 2 and Paramedics with Hamilton County EMS rushed to the scene of the 2 p.m. crash on Highway 27 at the interchange ramp to Interstate 24 Eastbound.

9-1-1 callers reported the driver of the semi was severely injured and needed immediate attention.

Hamilton County paramedics and firefighters with Quint 2 arrived on the scene within seconds of each other and quickly started rendering aid to the driver. Quint 2 reported the semi truck was loaded with about 42,000 pounds of ceramic tile and a rather large part of it had been shattered across the interstate.

The driver of the tractor trailer had sustained some very serious injuries caused by the truck sliding several yards down the interstate on its side. It is not clear if the driver's seat belt broke or if he was not wearing it, but when the truck fell over on the passenger's side, the driver was tossed across the cab landing on the side that was sliding down the roadway.

Crews quickly loaded the driver into a Hamilton County ambulance. He was rushed by paramedics to Erlanger Medical Center.

Luckily, no other vehicles were involved in the crash. TDOT Help trucks arrived on the scene quickly and started traffic control to keep traffic flowing while protecting the rescuers and wrecker crews.

The Chattanooga Police Department called for a large wrecker and crews to clean up the debris. Doug Yates Wrecker Service was immediately dispatched. Within minutes the first wrecker was on the scene, driven by co-owner Shannon Yates. Mr. Yates quickly evaluated the scene and requested two large roll off dumpsters, several of his employees and a Bobcat to the scene.

Within an hour of the crash, crews were already well involved in the clean up. Over half of the broken tile had already been scooped up and all the lanes of traffic had been restored. Crews cleaned up the rest of the debris and uprighted the semi truck in just a little over another hour. By 5 p.m. the tractor trailer and all the debris was completely gone from the interstate.

City of Chattanooga Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.

- Photo2 by Bill Carson, www.carsonphotos.net