Dispatchers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol confirm that all lanes of I-75 have now been reopened after a tanker accident early Tuesday morning.

A state trooper on the scene of the tanker accident at I-75 says as of 10:30 am, one northbound lane is now open.  They hope to have both lanes re-opened within the hour.

He also released the name of the truck driver who was injured in the accident.  John Estep of Gate City, Virginia, was taken by helicopter to UT Medical Center, where he is in critical condition.

Interstate 75 North in Anderson County and north Knox County will be closed for several more hours according to a THP trooper.  A diesel fuel truck hit a car earlier overturning and leaking fuel onto the road and into the creeks near mile marker 121.  Traffic is being diverted off the interstate at the Callahan Rd. exit.

Sometime after 6:00 am, the driver of a 2000 Pontiac was traveling north when his tire blew.  He tried to move the car out of traffic, but it remained in the left lane.  A THP trooper says that the driver saw a truck coming towards him and tried to flag him down but could not get the trucker’s attention in time.

The 2007 International Tractor Trailer from Frazier and Mann out of Virginia hit the car and flipped puncturing the tank which was carrying around 7400 gallons of diesel full.  The driver of the tanker was transported by Lifestar to UT Medical Center.  His condition is unknown.