The crashes occurred shortly before 4 p.m. just beyond the 173 exit in the northbound lane of the interstate.
Sergeant R.E. Dudley of the state Highway Patrol said Jearl Harrison, 46, of Turveville, South Carolina, was driving a 1999 Peterbilt hauling a flatbed trailer carrying a large safety rack when the driveshaft of the truck came off.
Barbara Coppley, 46, who was killed about a minute later, struck the driveshaft, which flattened both right tires of her 2011 Dodge minivan. She pulled over to the median as did the truck driver when another vehicle, a 2010 Ford Fusion driven by Alice Allen, 54, of Loveville, Maryland, struck the driveshaft. The driveshaft flattened the right tires of Allen's vehicle and she pulled to the median.
Dudley said as the first wreck stabilized, Coppley, who was traveling with her husband and young son, got out of the car to get insurance information from the truck driver because she was driving a rental van.
As this happened, George Cayia Jr., 72, of Ocala, Florida, hit the driveshaft in his Lincoln Town Car. The impact blew out his right rear tire, causing him to lose control and drift to the left where he hit Coppley, pinning her against the guardrail as her husband and child watched, Dudley said. The impact killed her instantly and Cayia's car then rotated went off to the right side of the road, striking a highway sign and coming to rest.
The state Highway Patrol's Motor Carrier Division is conducting the investigation, Dudley said. It is unclear whether charges will be filed. Motor Carrier troopers will continue to investigate the crash scene as well as look into maintenance records of the tractor-trailer.
Coppley and her family were heading to Emporia when the crash occurred.
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