Whitney Downard / The Meridian StarThe driver of the log truck, right, had to be airlifted to Jackson for treatment, The driver of the overturned truck, center, was transported locally by ambulance. 

A wreck involving four 18-wheelers and two passenger cars closed all eastbound traffic on Interstate 20 for more than four hours Wednesday afternoon, injuring four drivers in the wreck.

The accident, just west of the Mississippi Welcome Center between the Toomsuba and Russell exits, occurred around 11 a.m. First responders had to clear away debris such as logs, glass and metal before pulling trucks out of the lane around 2 p.m. One lane was cleared by 3:30 p.m.

A Volvo Cross Country, with a Louisiana license plate, apparently ran off the left edge of the road and overturned in the left eastbound lane.

That driver was taken to a hospital by ambulance, according to Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Andy West.

About a half mile behind the Volvo, four 18-wheelers and one passenger car, spread out over a quarter of a mile, clipped each other.

Jack Schniper, whose vehicle was the furtherest away from the Volvo, said a log truck clipped his maroon van before hitting the other 18-wheelers.

“I was lucky he didn’t hit me into this (18-wheeler),” Schniper, who had no apparent injuries, said. “I happened to glance back and saw him… I’m lucky I was slowing down. If I’d been totally stopped, it might have been worse.”

One 18-wheeler flipped onto its side across the entire eastbound lanes with a log truck, the cab smashed, behind it. Logs from the truck blocked the interstate and rolled off the right side of the road.

The driver of the overturned 18-wheeler was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. The driver of the log truck was flown to Jackson for treatment, West said.

Another 18-wheeler went into the median but that driver reported no injuries. The final 18-wheeler, in the right lane just in front of Schniper’s van, had damage to its cab and the driver was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

“We didn’t see what happened,” Edmond D. Cooper said. “We tried to assist but they ran us off.”

Cooper stood with Gabrielle Tyson, another driver, at the edge of the accident scene. The duo had been waiting two hours.

“We’re just praying everybody is OK,” Tyson said. “I glanced up and watched one go into the ditch and saw smoke.”

Tyson, training to be a respiratory therapist, said she ran to the drivers but emergency responders just asked her to grab a flashlight and blankets.

Other commercial drivers, stopped during their travels, said the slight slope of the hill made it difficult for 18-wheelers to stop, especially log trucks.

“When you’re coming off the hill here, everybody is wide open, cars and everything,” Daryel McNeil said. “Everybody comes down this hill really fast… so you’ve got a bunch of people going faster and you’ve got to concentrate a little harder.”

Toomsuba and Lauderdale volunteer fire departments, also, responded along with a few wreckers.