MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A University High School tennis coach paints an horrific picture of the fatal accident on Interstate 68 Friday night.
“It was a very grisly scene and just upsetting to all of us who were around there,” said Tom Bloom, UHS girl’s tennis team coach and Monongalia County Commission President.
A vehicle traveling west in the eastbound lanes of I-68 between the Interstate 79 split and the Sabraton exit, reportedly struck another vehicle headed in the correct direction.
The fiery crash was reported about 10:38 p.m. at the 3 milemarker. Bloom and approximately 15 players were returning from a tennis match at Parkersbug when the team bus got stopped in traffic about a mile east of the scene.
“You could smell and see it. We were that close,” described Bloom. “When we walked up it was apparent that it looked like one of the cars, a male from what I was told was driving the wrong way, hit one car, spun off of them and directly went into a second car.”
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the crash.
Both east and west bound lanes of the interstate were closed until about 4:00 a.m.
“It just took so long to get the individuals out of the car and then move the car. It was like an explosion basically. When they hit so hard, it was an explosion. It was just very tragic for everyone,” Bloom said.
Bloom said the team’s trip from Parkersburg took about 8 hours after several hours stuck on Interstate 68.
“It shook them up. I mean, it’s one thing we were saying, ‘Oh we’re inconvenienced.’ Then, I think what the realization was we were 15 seconds behind the accident. It could’ve been anyone. It could’ve been anyone we knew. I think it really brought them back to reality of what’s really important,” said Bloom of the students who witnessed the scene.