WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A wreck on I-55 in West Memphis claimed the lives of two people, including a baby.
That accident happened on I-55 around exit 3b just before noon.
Crushed metal and charred remains blocked traffic for hours along this stretch of Interstate.
A full-size truck swallowed up by the back of a semi.
Larry Griffin worked at Ray’s Bar-B-Que and came running when he heard the crash.
“She was hollering and crying, ‘Get me out. I’ve got a baby back in the car seat’,” he told WREG. “We never heard the baby cry or saw the baby at all,” Griffin added.
The baby and the driver were both killed in the accident, but the woman in the passenger seat survived.
“Only thing I could do is open the door so she could get some air because she couldn’t breathe,” Griffin said.
It took about 5 minutes for EMTs to arrive.
Carlencya Gage also worked at Ray’s.
She said all they could do was focus on the passenger.
“She just told me, ‘God, please forgive me. Can you please please pray with me?’ I thought she was going to die.” Gage explained, “She kept falling asleep. I had to keep her calm.”
Once rescue crews arrived, they cut the survivor out of the car and sent her to the Regional One Trauma Center.
Next they removed the driver and baby’s bodies from the pickup truck.
The driver of the semi was walking around, helping crews.
His truck suffered minimal damage.
Witnesses said they were frustrated more people didn’t step in to help.
“Even the truck that saw it happen didn’t stop, everyone just kept on moving,” Gage said.
While the wreckage was cleared from the road, witnesses said they will never forget what they saw.
State Police have yet to release any information about what caused this crash or the condition of the survivor.