NewsChannel 36

PHOTOS of the scene

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An accident involving a tractor trailer and two trucks shut down three lanes of I-85 southbound near IKEA Boulevard for hours this morning.

Troopers say it happened around 2:30 a.m. while a street sweeper and two trailing trucks with merge signs were at work on the interstate. A FedEX truck rear-ended one of the trailing trucks, which in turn hit the other trailing truck about 50 yards ahead.  Three lanes of traffic were shut down until about 5:50 a.m.

Medic tells us they transported one patient emergency traffic to Carolinas Medical Center. The other two patients were transported non-emergency to CMC University.

The exact cause of this wreck is still under investigation, but troopers tell us the driver of the FedEx truck may have fallen asleep because there is no indication that he hit the brakes.