The Clanton Advertiser

A Thursday morning accident injured two Tennessee women and shut down Interstate 65 in Clanton for an hour.

Clanton Police and Clanton Fire responded to a single-car crash around 6:45 a.m.

According to the preliminary investigation and witnesses, a GEO Tracker that was traveling south on I-65 left the roadway and flipped just south of the Exit 205.

Two women, 62- and 59-year-old sisters from central Tennessee, were injured and flown by Air Evac Lifeteam and Life Saver Helicopter to the UAB Hospital.

As of Thursday afternoon, the driver was in critical condition and the passenger, who was ejected from the vehicle, was in serious but stable condition, Police Chief Brian Stilwell said.

It appears that neither woman was wearing a seatbelt, Stilwell said.

Officer David Hicks of the department’s Traffic Homicide Unit continues to investigation the crash.

“Our hearts go out to the families of these two ladies,” Stilwell said.

The crash shut down both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-65 for almost an hour.