Lanes reopen on I-540, I-40 after wrecks

Drivers on Interstates 540 and 40 faced more than just weather-related delays Tuesday morning.

A four-vehicle wreck on I-540 caused lanes to be closed between Glenwood Avenue and Leesville Road for much of the day, Raleigh police said. 

Emergency crews took four people to a nearby hospital, one of whom was in critical condition, police said.

Two cars heading east ran into each other. One of those cars then crossed the median and hit two westbound cars before slamming into the guardrail, police said.

Westbound lanes were reopened by 10:30 a.m. and eastbound lanes reopened to traffic around 3 p.m. 

For much of the day, eastbound travelers on Interstate 40 found four of five lanes closed near the merger with I-540 in eastern Durham County after a tanker truck overturned.

All lanes on I-40 reopened at 3:30 p.m. 

Authorities said the tanker overturned while trying to avoid a two vehicle wreck on I-40. The driver of the tanker was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. 

Slick roads also played a part in a Tuesday morning wreck on Tryon Road in Raleigh. According to police, a vehicle crossed the center line of the road and struck a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. The impact sent both vehicles off of the road. The first vehicle ended up hydroplaning and hitting a utility pole, splitting it in half. 

The driver of the first vehicle, Bradley McLean Young, 23, of 1921 Wolf Tech Lane, Apartment 303, was impaired on a combination of alcohol and medications, according to a wreck report. Young was charged with DWI, driving left of center and traveling with unsafe tires.