UPDATED: RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. - WGNS has an update on the serious auto accident that shut down I-24 East in Rutherford County for over an hour on Friday, just before 11 AM. The crash occurred just before the Sam Ridley Parkway interchange as those involved were driving from the direction of Nashville, heading towards Murfreesboro.

According to a preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), a 2024 Peterbilt tractor-trailer truck was attempting to merge from the shoulder of the road onto the interstate when it was struck from the rear. As the big rig, driven by 63-year-old Richard Sumner, began merging into the outermost lane of I-24, a 2014 Jeep Wrangler, also traveling eastbound, ran into the rear of the trailer being pulled by the semi-truck, as noted in the initial report. The impact left the Jeep, operated by Beyar Yahya of Middle Tennessee, severely damaged.

Yahya, the 35-year-old driver of the four-door Jeep, was badly injured in the collision, and an air evac helicopter was dispatched to the scene to airlift him to an area hospital. As of Saturday afternoon, there is no confirmation on his condition.

Two passengers believed to have been in the rear seats of the SUV were identified as an 8-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl. The THP report obtained by WGNS on Saturday morning showed that the two children were, miraculously, not injured. Both the boy and girl were wearing safety restraints when the wreck occurred, according to the state trooper who filed the initial report.

Sumner, the Tennessee resident who was behind the wheel of the Peterbilt truck, was not injured in the crash.

The THP report confirmed that everyone involved — including the driver of the Jeep — was wearing a seatbelt when the accident unfolded on Friday morning, about ten minutes before the 11 o’clock hour.

No charges have been filed against either of the two drivers, and the THP is continuing its investigation into what they described as a "front-to-rear manner" collision. As noted in the report, any potential charges will depend on the outcome of their investigation, which is standard procedure in crashes that involve serious injuries.

DISCLAIMER: All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The arrest records or information about an arrest that are published or reported on NewsRadio WGNS and www.WGNSradio.com are not an indication of guilt or evidence that an actual crime has been committed.