2 dead in I-85 crash involving six vehicles in South Carolina

Two people were killed in a six-vehicle chain-reaction crash on I-85 on Thursday after a tractor-trailer rear-ended a car in the northbound lanes, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler.

The crash took place at 10:22 p.m. Thursday near mile marker 88, in South Carolina, troopers said.

A tractor-trailer rear-ended another tractor-trailer that was stopped on I-85 because of construction, troopers said. The first tractor-trailer then side-swiped a Ford pickup and struck a Nissan Altima.

The impact from those accidents pushed some of the automobiles into two more tractor-trailers.

The Nissan and the first tractor-trailer burst into flames, troopers said. The driver, Sherron Alexander, 50, of Gaffney, died as a result of the crash, the coroner said.

The driver of the first tractor-trailer also died. He has been identified as Gary Parks, 61, of Campton, Kentucky, according to officials.