Woman, two children killed when large truck hits several vehicles on Kentucky highway

Three people were killed and several others injured Monday in a crash in Western Kentucky when a tractor-trailer crashed into several vehicles, according to Kentucky State Police.

Police said the preliminary investigation showed traffic had slowed on westbound Interstate 24 at Grand Rivers because of construction at the Tennessee River Bridge.

Mansur Kholikov, 24, of Brooklyn, NY, who was driving a 2022 Kenworth truck, did not slow along with the rest of the traffic and plowed into several cars from behind, causing them to hit other cars, police said.

One vehicle burst into flames, authorities said.

Three people died in that vehicle. They were Saundra Dodd, 68, of Evansville, Ind., and two children. Police did not release the names or ages of the children.

Emergency workers flew two injured people from other cars to hospitals by helicopter, and several others were transported by ambulance, state police said.

The interstate was closed for several hours in Livingston County.

In a release early Tuesday, police said they were still investigating the reason Kholikov hit the other vehicles.