UPDATE: One person has been taken to the hospital via Hamilton County EMS and is in critical condition after Wednesday morning's crash on Brainerd Road, according to the Chattanooga Police Department. The driver of a pickup was traveling east through McCallie tunnels, drifted to the right, went off the road, struck street lamps, trees, and a utility pole, police state.
Original story:
A crash at Seminole Drive and Brainerd Road in Chattanooga is causing major traffic delays Wednesday morning.
Many of the cars are being diverted to side streets and the Missionary Ridge neighborhood. The Missionary Ridge Tunnel is closed to traffic headed toward downtown.
At the scene, firefighters were still trying to remove a man from his car, according to an officer at the scene. The city's 911 site is calling it a case of "entrapment."
The car crashed into the Seminole Drive intersection sign and knocked down a power pole before hitting the corner of the building. Edward Wickley is the owner of the restaurant in the corner of that building - the Flaming Rooster.
A crash at Brainerd Road and Seminole Drive Wednesday morning. Photo by Allison Collins"I have asked the city several times to do something about this corner right here because it is very, very dangerous," Wickley said while standing on the corner of Seminole Drive and Brainerd Road unable to get into his business.
Wickley moved into that building three years ago and said there have been at least seven accidents in three years on that block, including a car that ran into the side of his building about six months ago. He said he has "begged" the city to put up barriers, a light or anything at the intersection to prevent the number of crashes.
Bethany Schklar, a fourth-grade teacher at Normal Park Museum Magnet School, died after a car crash in January at the intersection of Brainerd Road and Elmwood Drive - just one block away from Wednesday's crash site.
"I asked them to just put some bars up to protect the building and the people inside," he said.
This is a developing story. Stay with the Times Free Press for updates.