MILTON, W.Va. — Authorities are still not releasing names of the victims in a tragic Friday night wreck on I-64 in Cabell County. The crash took place near the Milton exit around 7 p.m. It claimed the lives of two children, ages 3 and 1.
According to authorities, the mother of the children was traveling east and lost control of her vehicle. It crossed the median and collided with a westbound truck pulling a camper. The two vehicles then struck a semi which was also travelling west.
The toddlers died at the scene. A third child in the vehicle, age unknown, was transported to an area hospital and was in stable condition. The mother was flown to nearby Cabell-Huntington Hospital via Healthnet. Her condition is unknown.
The tragedy struck investigating officers hard, one of the first Milton Police officers to arrive on the scene knew the woman.
“One of my officers went to high school with the driver,” said Milton Chief of Police Joe Parsons. “The family is known to us, but we’re still in the process of notification.”
The family lives in Lincoln County, but the woman was originally from the Milton area according to police.
The accident shutdown I-64 in both directions near the scene for hours and backed up traffic for miles throughout the night. Motorists were detoured off the interstate at Milton and Hurricane. Accident reconstruction teams were on the scene working much of the night.