East Texas

(AP) -- Two people were killed when their car, stopped in an interstate to avoid hitting an overturned 18-wheeler, was slammed from behind by another tractor-trailer rig in a fiery wreck that shut down Interstate 20 for about 12 hours, authorities said Tuesday.

After hitting the car, the rig plowed into three other 18-wheelers and caught fire at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said.

Edward Corbet Koponen, 39, of Longview, and Edward Carroll Fielder, 49, of Maydelle, were pronounced dead at the scene, Mange said. Fielder was wearing a seatbelt, but Koponen was not.

The rig driven by Theodore Burton of Muskogee, Okla., was traveling eastbound when it struck Koponen's car. Burton, 62, was transported to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. His condition and injuries were not immediately available.

Traffic was rerouted through nearby Tyler until Interstate 20 was reopened about noon Tuesday.

Updated Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 at 4:08 p.m. CDT

Six 18-wheelers and a car collided in a fiery crash on highway I-20 off Lavender Road in Smith County last night. Two fatalities and the closing of the highway were the result of the accident.
(Staff Photo by Jaime R. Carrero)